Rosewood Falls
by stormy.grace
Summary: Aria Montgomery and Elena Gilbert are both desperate to start over. Where better than a new small town where nobody knows your secrets? But their hopelessly romantic hearts just won't let them walk away from handsome blue eyed men.
1. Chapter 1: A Step in the Right Direction

***As always, all I own are the new characters and events. Rosewood, Mystic Falls and all of their residents and history are in no way my creation.**

***This story was inspired by an AU edit and a discussion between friends. Thank you Maria and Mallisa for the inspiration, and I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

***The title of this story, **_**Pain Killer**_**, came from the title track of Little Big Town's brand new album. As a dedicated Townie I highly suggest that you check out the entire album, but you really should check out "Pain Killer" because the song offers a wonderfully written, performed, and produced view of where I'd like to take this story.**

***Enjoy! Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated.**

Chapter 1: A Step in the Right Direction

_ "Aria?" Ezra called out softly as he knocked gently on the bathroom door, concern altering the tone of the voice she knew so well. "Are you okay? You've been in there a while."_

_ "I'm fine." She lied, sniffing as she wiped a tear from her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror._

_ Ezra could tell by the choked way she said it that she was far from fine. It had been so long since she had actually __**been**__ fine, and she had said it so many times that he wondered if the word still held any meaning for her. It was all over, but it would be a very long time before any of them were truly fine again. It was over, but it would never be forgotten._

_ Worried, which was his default setting when it came to Aria these days, he opened the door and stepped into the bathroom with her. She was standing at the sink, griping the counter so hard that he was almost surprised it didn't shatter, and staring almost lifelessly at her face in the mirror. He wasn't sure what she saw, but what he saw scared him._

_ It had been a couple of months since the truth about Ali and A had come out. At first they were all happy and relieved that it was really over this time, but it was only a few days before Aria began to deteriorate. She didn't eat much if she ate at all, and had lost at least ten pounds that she didn't need to loose. Her sleeping was erratic, and she frequently had nightmares or woke up with panic attacks. Her skin was deathly pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Eyes that had lost their sparkle, just as her now usually messy hair had lost its shine._

_ The girl he loved more than anything, the girl he had literally taken a bullet for, was wasting away before his eyes and it broke his heart to see her like this. The others were struggling with it too, but from what he had seen Aria was taking it the hardest. The girls were worried. Her family was worried. Toby, Caleb, and Paige were worried. He was worried. Even his mother had expressed some genuine concern when she had dropped by unexpectedly last month, and things hadn't been half as bad as they were now. Ezra was honestly afraid she might do something unthinkable. Alison DiLaurentis had broken the once confident and vibrant girl that held his heart in the palm of her hand and Ezra hated her for that. More than once he had actually caught himself hoping someone killed her, or she killed herself, while she was at Farview State Hospital._

_ They called it a hospital because it technically was one, but it was basically a prison for the criminally insane. Alison had been deemed too dangerous for a regular prison and had almost been sent to Radley, but the judge had been reminded of the fact that not only had she stalked and tormented almost an entire town for a year and a half, but she had also cold-bloodedly murdered several of them. And she had called the shots in the murders she hadn't actually committed herself. Her accomplices were going to a regular prison for a very long time, but because of her outrageously heinous and violent actions and the fact that her mother had been involved in the cover-up at Radley, the judge had decided that everyone would be safer if she were sent to Farview instead where she couldn't sneak out at night like Mona had at Radley._

_ Alison was gone, but she was still haunting Aria. She jumped every time her phone rang, she hadn't made any new friends because she now had a difficult time trusting anyone new, and she refused to go anywhere by herself. And when she did go out she still looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was hiding in the bushes. She was still having a hard time dealing with what had happened with Shana even though she knew it had been justified, and Mona's death had affected her more than anyone had thought it would. But it was Jenna's death that had messed her up the most because the knife that had ended her life had been meant for Aria._

_ The diagnoses were simple. She had PTSD and survivors guilt. She was depressed, afraid, and slightly paranoid. He knew the words and what they meant, but no matter how hard he tried he simply couldn't find a way to put the broken pieces back together, and that killed him._

_ "I'm fine." She repeated as another tear slid down her cheek._

_ Ezra reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle tug to coax her to face him. "Aria."_

_ She turned and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue._

_ "Don't lie to me anymore." He said firmly, a gentle plea. "It's over. You don't have to lie anymore. You don't have to be afraid anymore. You're safe."_

_ Sudden anger flashed in her eyes, which wasn't uncommon as of late, and she felt like she was watching someone else snap and yell at her boyfriend. "I don't care if it's over, Ezra! I'm not safe! No one is safe! All they did was lock her up in some hospital! How does that make me safe?"_

_ "Aria, she can't get to you." He reminded for the thousandth time. "She can't get out. She can't hurt you anymore."_

_ "You don't know that she can't get out." Aria said as tears filled her eyes once more. "You don't know that she can't hurt anyone. It's Alison! She could find a way to get out, and if she does nothing's going to stop her from coming back and killing all of us. That's what she wants, Ezra. She wants us dead, and you know…you __**know**__ she won't stop until she gets what she wants or she dies."_

_ "Aria." He said, trying to think of something to say or do to calm her down._

_ "That's what has to happen." She said, suddenly looking a little crazy._

_ "Aria."_

_ "Alison needs to die."_

_ Ezra took her thin shoulders in his hands and actually shook her. "Aria, stop it! You're being ridiculous. Alison is locked up and she can't hurt you anymore. No one else needs to die."_

_ Aria stared at him for a long, silent moment. Her eyes were wide with fear and full of tears threatening to spill over. She obviously had no idea what to do and finally broke down, sobbing as she fell against him and buried her face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, hoping to make her feel safe, as she clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her alive. Hot, terrified tears soaked through his shirt for almost ten minutes before she managed to calm down enough to look up and say "I can't do this anymore, Ezra." between hiccups and sniffles._

_ "I know." He said soothingly, using a hand towel to try to help mop up her tear streaked and swollen face. "But we'll get through this. You're going to be okay, Aria. I promise."_

_ She sniffed once more and shook her head. "No, Ezra. I mean it. I can't do this anymore. I can't be here in this town anymore. I just can't do it. It's __**killing**__ me. I can't stay here with all these people and places that remind me every single day of what happened."_

_ "Okay." He said, understanding. "Then we'll move. We'll find some place new and start over. We'll leave Rosewood behind."_

_ She looked at him for a long moment, unsure of how to say what she was thinking. She knew it would break both of their hearts, but she couldn't leave it unsaid. "Ezra…" She let go and stepped back, gently colliding with the sink._

_ Realization washed over his face and they stood in silence staring at each other for a while._

_ "I'm one of those people." He finally said, his voice betraying no emotion._

_ "Ezra…"_

_ "It's okay, Aria." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but couldn't. Instead he just took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I know this is all hard on you. I know you're struggling. I can see it, and it breaks my heart to see you like this. All I want is for you to get better. I want you to be happy. I want you to be able to go somewhere without checking to see if you're being followed. I want you to not be scared of your phone or a black hoodie or a red coat. It kills me that I can't fix all of it for you."_

_ She stepped forward again and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself as close as she could get as she began to cry yet again. "I don't want to leave you. I love you so much, Ezra. I just can't do this anymore."_

_ "You don't have to." He said. "Don't worry about me. You do what you need to do to be okay. I'll help in any way I can. Even if that means I have to let you go for a little while."_

_ Aria could feel his heart beating in his chest, and realized that she _did_ feel safe in his arms. But he couldn't hold her twenty-four seven. And he couldn't fix her. She had to fix herself._

_ "I'll be back." She promised. _

%%%

Whitmore College was a few states and many miles away from Rosewood. Aria knew that simply leaving her hometown and arriving in a new place wasn't going to magically fix everything, but she had hoped she would feel a little bit better once she got here. She didn't.

A had destroyed her car by setting it on fire while she and Hanna were inside, causing Mike to need stitches and burn treatment after busting out the window and pulling them both to safety before the vehicle exploded. She hadn't been able to replace it yet, so her entire family had decided to drive her to her new home.

Her parents had gotten remarried and produced her now almost two year old sister Laurel, and Mike's sweet girlfriend Piper was four months pregnant with Aria's first niece or nephew.

They had all been in the car with her and she had known that there was nothing to worry about, but her subconscious refused to ease up. For over three hundred miles she had had mini panic attacks every time another vehicle came a little too close to the Montgomery's rented mini van, thinking it might be A trying to run them off the road.

Even now, while her whole family was crowded inside her new dorm room with her two new roommates, part of her was very aware that there could be someone outside taking pictures or video. She knew it was next to impossible. A was gone. Ali was locked up in an asylum. But both she and Mona had had minions to do some of their dirty work for them, and even Ezra had had cameras and microphones planted all over town, something she still found very creepy, but had somehow been able to get over.

_Will I ever feel safe again?_ She wondered as she watched the small crowd of people in the room mingle and chat. _Will I ever be able to go home? Will I ever look at Ezra and not think about the fact that I almost got him killed?_

"She is too cute!" Caroline Forbes, the bubbly blonde new roommate, gushed as she bounced Laurel on her hip.

The baby giggled, smiling up at Caroline and instantly loving her.

"You're gonna be a great mom someday, Care." Bonnie Bennett, the calmer, but equally friendly new roommate that vaguely reminded Aria of Maya St. Germain for some reason, said as she sat down on her bed.

Both Caroline and Bonnie were a year ahead of Aria, but there had been some mix up in the housing office and they had an empty bed. Their other roommate had suddenly moved out, and they were more than happy to have Aria take her spot. She had only just met them, but so far she liked them.

Caroline looked a little sad at Bonnie's comment and Aria wondered why, but didn't feel she had the right to ask just yet. They had known each other all their lives and she was the new girl, the outsider. Caroline's reaction to Bonnie's comment was none of her business.

Eventually her family left and Aria was alone in anew place with these two girls that she really knew nothing about. Both of them offered to help her unpack and she accepted gratefully. If there was anything she hated more than packing it was _un_packing.

"Your family seems really nice." Bonnie said with a smile as they worked.

Aria smiled back. "They're pretty great."

"How did your brother get those scars on his arms?" Caroline asked. "If you don't mind my asking."

_A psycho bitch tried to bar-b-que me and one of my best friends_, she thought, but simply said. "There was a fire. He actually saved my life. If it weren't for Mike, Hanna and I would be toast."

"Hanna?" Bonnie asked curiously.

Aria nodded. "One of my friends. She's in New York now learning how to be the world's next hottest fashion designer, so I don't get to see her much."

After Hanna took her turn on the dark side they had all been surprised when she had announced that she was still going to school to learn about fashion design and become the next Betsey Johnson. But Hanna was still Hanna after all, and not everything about her had been forced by Ali and Mona. They had really only nurtured her love of the latest trends.

What had really surprised Aria was that she had still wanted to go to school in New York. Yes, she wanted Hanna to have the education she deserved and wanted, but she didn't think there was any way she could possibly set foot in the city ever again.

She also envied Hanna because she had gotten away from Rosewood as soon as Ali had been convicted. She had barely waited for the judge to put his gavel down before she was on the next train to Manhattan with Caleb. Aria had stuck around so long because she had felt like she had to.

Now she was free, but she was still looking over her shoulder.

This time when she did she saw Caroline holding up one of her dresses. It was navy with a sequined lace bodice and fluffy layers of tulle skirts. There was a big grin on her face, and for a moment she reminded Aria of Hanna. The moment passed quickly, but was enough to make her feel a pang of longing. She missed her friends.

"You should wear this to the party tonight!" Caroline said. "It's perfect!"

"What party?" Aria asked.

Bonnie picked up a pair of lace up black granny boots and smiled. "With these."

Aria let out a small laugh. "Okay, but what party?"

Caroline laid the dress out on the bed that had belonged to Elena, and at one point Katherine, and sat down beside it. "It's a silly Mystic Falls founder's thing."

Aria gave her a confused look.

Bonnie explained. "Mystic Falls is really serious about its history, and we have a lot of parties and stuff to celebrate the towns founding families."

"The Fells, the Forbes, the Gilberts, the Lockwoods, and the Salvatores…"Caroline paused and glanced at Bonnie, "And technically the Bennetts."

"Emily was a slave." Bonnie said. "I don't think we really _founded_ the town, but we have been around for a while."

Caroline's eyebrows jerked up in a 'no kidding' gesture that made Aria wonder just how far back the Bennett family went in Mystic Falls, but again she didn't ask.

"Anyway," Caroline continued. "I'm a Forbes so I have to go."

Aria looked at Bonnie, silently asking whether her presence was required or not.

Bonnie nodded. "We Bennetts may not be considered a founding family, but my boyfriend is a Gilbert."

"Why do I have to go?" Aria asked, not sure she really wanted to dip her toes into the history of Mystic Falls just yet.

"Because you're our new roommate, and we can't just leave you here all by yourself on your first night in town." Caroline explained.

"You don't have to come with us." Bonnie amended. "But it'll be fun. Besides, do you really want to sit alone in a strange room all night when you could be out dancing and meeting new people?"

Aria smiled. "Alright. I'll go."

She wasn't ready to be all by herself in this strange room just yet. The threat was gone, but her brain kept telling her to always stick with someone else. There was safety in numbers. And Mystic Falls sounded like an interesting, quirky little town. What could go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2: First Impressions

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Aria had decided to wear the dress Caroline had picked out, but chose a different pair of boots because the ones Bonnie had picked didn't seem right for the type of party they were going to. Apparently it was in celebration of William Forbes' birthday. She had figured out that he was Caroline's ancestor on her own because the connection was obvious, but Caroline had informed her that he had been one of the original founders of Mystic Falls back in the 1800s. He had also been the sheriff like her mother, which Aria thought was a little odd. Was it a coincidence that both Forbes family members held the position or was it on purpose?

Looking in the mirror, she decided there wasn't much else she could do. She had managed to gain back a few pounds since making up her mind to leave Rosewood and the dress fit because it was newer, but she was still obviously too thin. She hadn't missed the concerned and curious looks on Bonnie and Caroline's faces while they had all been getting dressed, but was grateful they hadn't said anything about it. Explaining why she was so underweight was not on her to-do list for the night.

They were all ready to go and were on the way out the door when her phone rang. It was Ezra. Bonnie and Caroline paused to wait for her, but she told them that she would meet them downstairs and accepted the call. "Ezra. Hi."

"I know I promised to give you space," he said. "But I needed to call and make sure you got there alright."

She smiled at his concern. It was going to be hard for him to let go, and he would probably never be able to stop the urge to take care of her. "Yeah, I'm all settled in. We got here just fine, and I'm actually about to go to a party with my roommates and some of their friends."

"Really?" he sounded surprised.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "I wasn't crazy about the idea when Caroline first mentioned it, but it sounds like it might be fun and I don't really want to be by myself just yet."

"Okay." Ezra said, accepting her explanation and understanding her reasons even though he wasn't sure she really wanted to go to a party. "Well, have fun."

"I will." She promised although she wasn't sure she could keep it. "Ezra?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for checking on me."

"Of course." He said.

"I better get going. They're waiting for me."

"I love you."

Aria was quiet for a moment; picturing the look she knew was on his face as he spoke the words. A soft smile spread across her own face. "I love you too."

They hung up and she went to meet Bonnie and Caroline downstairs. She also met Tyler Lockwood, his girlfriend Liv, and Alaric Saltzman, who taught Occult Studies and had some ambiguous connection to the group. Somehow they all managed to squeeze into one vehicle and made the trip to Mystic Falls.

Aria had spent a lot of time on the road the last couple of days and she was tired, but the idea of going to a party and maybe meeting some new friends had her adrenaline pumping.

She was the newcomer in the group, but she didn't really feel out of place. It was a refreshing feeling, but a little voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Ali reminded her not to let her guard down. She didn't know these people. Have fun, but don't get too comfortable.

%%%

So far the party wasn't too bad. It had already started by the time they had arrived, and Aria had been introduced to another group of Caroline and Bonnie's friends including Bonnie's boyfriend Jeremy, who had seemed a little stiff when he had greeted Bonnie, Stefan Salvatore and his girlfriend Ivy, whom Caroline didn't seem to like very much, Matt Donovan, and a very attractive man who was simply introduced as Enzo. Sherriff Forbes was sick and unable to attend so Caroline had stepped in and given a speech in honor of her ancestor. Everyone had applauded and the party had continued.

Even though everyone had been very nice and perfectly welcoming Aria had drifted off by herself and was now standing in a corner, sipping champagne she wasn't quite old enough to drink, and watching others dance.

She felt like she had back in Rosewood before Ali had plucked her from obscurity. Out of place. These people all knew each other. Most of them had grown up in this pretty little Southern town that probably didn't have any drama more scandalous than who was secretly sleeping with whom. Once again Aria was the outsider that didn't belong.

Oddly enough there was something strangely comforting about the familiar feeling. It was a feeling from before everything had come apart at the seams, before secrets and lies, before missing bodies and unsolved murders. Before Alison. This wasn't the first time she found herself wishing she could go back to that time before things had gotten so complicated.

"Where have you wandered off to, Miss Montgomery?"

She blinked, dragging herself back to the present, and looked up at Enzo. His English accent made her think of Wren a.k.a. Beach Hottie, who had gotten Ali pregnant that summer and then conspired with Mona to kill her when she used the pregnancy as blackmail. But Wren was dead, and although Enzo looked dangerous he probably wouldn't hurt her.

"Miss Montgomery?" Enzo repeated when she drifted off again.

_Ezra_.

"Aria?"

She snapped back to reality again and looked at Enzo with eyes slightly wider than normal. "Sorry."

"Are you alright, darling?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned.

_Be careful, Aria_, Ali's voice whispered. _Remember how easy it is to trick someone into believing you care about them._

She tried to shake off her weird mood and pasted a smile on her face. "Yeah. Sorry. It's just that this is a new place. I guess I'm just a little disoriented."

"That's probably not helping any." He said, gesturing to the flute in her hand.

"Probably not." She agreed and abandoned it on a nearby table. "I shouldn't be drinking it anyway."

"Expecting?" he asked playfully.

She wasn't sure if this was just his nature or if he was trying to coax her out of her funk. Either way it was working. This time her smile was real. "Medicated and underage."

"Ah." He said, tilting his head back slightly in a sort of understanding nod. He flashed a mischievous grin. "A girl that likes to live on the edge. We could use a few more people like you around here."

She pushed her loose curls behind her shoulder and shifted her weight slightly. "Actually, I'd prefer to stay away from the edge."

Enzo shrugged. "Have it your way." He offered his hand and gave her a little bow. "Would you like to dance, Miss Montgomery?"

They had been doing so well for a little while, and with two simple words her mind had dashed right back to Ezra. She had only been gone for a couple of days and it had been her idea to leave, but she missed him so much. It almost physically hurt, and she wondered when she had become so dependant on him. It was one thing to be in love and miss that person like crazy, but was it normal that she felt like Enzo had just ripped her heart out simply by calling her Miss Montgomery?

"Aria?"

She had drifted off again.

"I think I need some air." She blurted. "Rain check on the dance?"

He nodded, but she didn't see it because she had already turned and made a bee line for the front door. Something was seriously bothering this girl, and he went to track down Bonnie and Caroline and make sure they knew that they needed to keep an eye on their new roommate.

%%%

While Enzo was acting slightly out of character and worrying about someone else Aria was outside trying to fight off the panic attack that had suddenly snuck up on her.

No one was around to see her so she didn't feel the least bit self-conscious or embarrassed when she knelt down on the driveway of the big house that belonged to the Lockwood family and assumed child's pose in the soft glow of the front porch light. She took several deep breaths and finally sat up slowly once she had forced herself to calm down.

Rising slowly to her feet, she turned around to go back inside and screamed, jumping back as she came face to face with an unexpected man. Her heel caught in a crack and her heart was pounding as she began to tumble to the ground.

Torn dress, broken heel, cuts and bruises, concussion. All of these possibilities ran through her head as she fell, unable to keep herself on her feet, and she prepared for the worst when she hit the ground.

But she didn't hit the ground.

The man that had ruined the victory she had just achieved by appearing out of nowhere and scaring her half to death shot forward and caught her as she was falling, seeming to move faster than humanly possible. But that was probably just her fearful and paranoid mind messing with her, and she brushed it off grateful to him for catching her even though he was the one that had caused the problem.

As she gazed up at him the darkness obscured details, but she could see well enough to know that this mysterious man was extremely handsome. She was completely distracted for a moment before warning bells went off in her head. This man may have saved her from a broken limb, but he had been lurking around in the shadows. He was dressed all in black, and although he had a faint smile on his face there was something about him that felt dangerous. Like Enzo.

She allowed him to set her back on her feet and then took a couple of steps back, acutely aware that placing a mere five fee between them wasn't the best defense strategy, but she was ready to run and scream for help at a moment's notice.

He seemed to sense that she was uneasy and didn't make a move toward her, but flashed a friendly smile. "Are you okay?"

She had heard that question a lot lately, but she nodded instead of getting defensive. He had a legitimate reason for asking. "Yeah."

"I didn't mean to scare you." He said, taking a small step toward her and stopping when she took another step back. He held up his hands in a reassuring gesture. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Damon."

She kept her wide-eyed, slightly terrified gaze directly on his face and was aware of every move he made. "Aria."

Her voice was cautious and wary, and she was clearly ready to flee or fight at the slightest provocation. Damon wondered what she had done, or what had been done to her, to make her so skittish. _Aria_, he thought. _Beautiful name, beautiful girl. _

He remained still because he didn't want her to hurt herself. "I didn't mean to scare you, Aria. I saw you curled up on the ground and I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt." _Or dead._ Ivy was still a little reckless.

"I'm okay." She said. "I just got a little overwhelmed in there."

Damon nodded. "You must be pretty new in town. I've never seen you around before."

_Is he a nice guy making conversation, or is he a killer fishing for information? _Ali's voice taunted.

"Sort of." She said. "I'm here with friends."

_Friends? For all you know Caroline will stab you in your sleep tonight._ Ali said. _What __**really**__ happened to their other roomie, Aria? _

"She left." She muttered, trying to make the voice stop and reassure herself that she hadn't just moved in with killers.

She barely heard her own words and wasn't aware that Damon had heard them perfectly. He started to ask who had left, but realized that the statement hadn't been directed toward him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Damon asked. "You seem a little…upset."

_Upset? Ha! Try crazy. _

It was like Alison was standing right beside her and Aria squeezed her eyes shut trying to make her go away. "I'm fine." She told Damon, resisting the urge to put her hands over her ears because she knew that wouldn't make the voice go away. Ali was in her head, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Damon didn't believe her. It was obvious that something was wrong, but he didn't know how to ask what it was without upsetting her further. Surely if he kept asking if she was okay she would just get angry.

"Aria?" Caroline called from the front door, smiling when she spotted her. "There you are. Are you okay? Enzo said you weren't feeling well."

"I'm fine!" Aria shouted, completely over the question.

Caroline had been walking toward her, but stopped when she shouted, and Damon took a step back.

"What's going on, Damon?" Caroline's question wasn't audible to Aria's human ears. "What did you do to my new roommate?"

"Nothing." He murmured in reply, quietly defending himself as he watched the troubled new girl visibly struggle with something inside her. "You're new roomie's a little on the crazy side. She was lying on the ground when I got here and now she's freaking out. I may have accidentally terrified her, but that's it."

"Caroline, you know him?" Aria asked, feeling the tiniest bit of relief.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah. This is Damon Salvatore, Stefan's brother."

"Oh." Aria said. He was Caroline's friend, and Stefan's brother. That meant he was okay, right?

_They could all be murderers. _Ali said. _You better run, bitch._

Suddenly Ali's voice was laughing at her, making fun of her predicament, and Aria couldn't take it anymore.

_You can't trust anyone, Aria. They all just lie to you and betray you. You trusted me. You trusted Ezra. Look what happened. You trusted people and it turned you into a paranoid freak, a killer. Shana's dead because of you. Jenna's dead because of you. Run, Aria. Before they kill you too._

"_NO!_" she shouted pressing her hands to the sides of her head, desperately trying to squeeze the taunting voice out.

"Aria?"

It was Caroline who spoke, but it wasn't Caroline's voice she heard. It was Ali's. Saying her name over and over again, telling her to run, and reminding her of all the terrible things that had happened.

"Leave me alone, Alison!" she cried, bursting into tears and falling to her knees. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone! I won't let you kill me!"

A small crowd had gathered outside now, drawn out by her shrieks, and Caroline rushed forward to try and help. But all Aria saw was a blonde girl coming after her and she fought back, shoving Caroline away and screaming at her.

"_Do_ something, Damon!" Caroline ordered, not knowing what else to do. "_Help _her!"

Most of the people that had gathered outside were human so she couldn't tell him to compel Aria to sanity, but he knew what she meant. He assumed it's what she had been trying to do, but clearly the hysterical little brunette saw someone else when she looked at Caroline right now.

He approached carefully and crouched in front of her, grabbing her arms and holding them steady at her sides so that she couldn't hit him. She was small, but anger and fear made her strong and she fought against him making it difficult for him to hold her. "A little help here!" he called out.

Stefan ran over to help as Enzo helped Caroline up and out of the danger zone. Bonnie and the others were trying to get everyone else back inside, compelling and forcefully shoving them back into the house.

"What happened?" Stefan asked as he wrapped his arms around Aria from behind, pinning her arms to her sides as she continued to struggled, cry, and scream that she wasn't going to die. "She was fine earlier."

"I don't know, Stefan." Damon replied. "I guess she snapped."

"Well, hurry up an _un_snap her!"

"Aria?" Damon called softly, taking her face in his hands and brushing her long, dark hair away from her eyes as he tried to get her to focus on him instead of whatever demons she was seeing. "Aria, look at me."

Suddenly she stopped struggling against Stefan and stared in confusion at Damon. "Ezra?"

He had no clue who Ezra was, but she was calming down so he went with it. "Yeah. I'm right here, Aria. It's okay. You're safe. Alison can't hurt you."

She was still breathing hard and she stared at Damon for a long moment, fear still very apparent in her big eyes.

Stefan slowly let go of her and Damon eased his hands onto her shoulders so they could grab her if she started freaking out again.

"Alison." She said, tears still dripping. "She wants to kill me. She wants us all dead."

Damon shook his head. "I won't let her hurt you, Aria. You're safe."

"I'm safe?"

"Yes." Damon promised. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Come here."

"Ezra." She said and fell into his arms, holding on for dear life.

Damon held her close and stroked her hair as he stood, lifting her into his arms. "You're alright."

"I wanna go home." She whimpered against his shoulder.

Home? Where was home? Damon didn't know where she wanted him to take her.

"Take her back to the house." Stefan said. "She doesn't need to go all the way back to Whitmore tonight."

Damon nodded and paused in front of Caroline. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said, not shrugging off the protective arm Enzo had around her shoulders. "I'm fine. Just take care of her."

"Where is she from?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Rosewood, Pennsylvania." Bonnie said.

Damon froze. "Rosewood?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah. She said she came down here because she wanted a fresh start. I guess whatever she's running from is pretty serious."

"Yeah." Damon said as he turned and walked toward his car with his arms full of Aria.

Serious was an understatement. She had looked familiar and the name had rung a bell, but it wasn't until Bonnie told him where she was from that it all clicked into place in his head because he had been so focused on making sure she didn't hurt anyone.

Elena had cousins in Rosewood, and she had gone to stay with them for a while to sort some things out. Out of curiosity he had googled the town, and the news articles that had come up had disturbed him. Stalkers, multiple murders, psychotic teenagers. Rosewood had some scary skeletons, and Aria Montgomery and her friends, including Elena's cousin Spencer, had been right smack dab in the middle of the entire mess. No wonder she was looney tunes.


	3. Chapter 3: Moving OnWhen You're Ready

**I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this story! I'm having so much fun writing it! Thanks to my lovely friends for reading and leaving comments, and thanks to Maria for continuing to help me figure some things out. And thanks to all the rest of you that I don't know for reading and leaving review if you have. Y'all are wonderful!**

*** Just for clarity, this story takes place in the fall of 2013. I had to do some math to figure out how the timelines of the two shows fit together, and last year seemed like a fitting time to start this next chapter of Elena and Aria's lives.**

***Please keep in mind that I've never been to college, so I'm not really sure how the semester and all work, but for the purposes of this story and from how I assume things work Caroline, Bonnie and Tyler are in their third year at Whitmore, Elena has dropped out, and Matt and Jeremy are still content with their high school diplomas. Aria, Spencer, and Hanna are in their second year at their respective schools, and Emily is now working full time at The Brew to save up for college while figuring out what she wants to do with her life now that she doesn't have to worry about being sawed in half anymore.**

***And just because it might end up driving Elena and myself crazy, I'm not entirely sure how, or if, Melissa and Meredith are connected at this point in time.**

**Now…who's curious to see how things are going for Elena in Rosewood?**

Chapter 3: Moving On…When You're Ready

At first the idea of spending some time with her family in Rosewood had sounded wonderful. She could get away from everyone and everything in Mystic Falls and at Whitmore, leave behind all the supernatural drama, and not have Damon _right there_ unable to keep from loving her while she tried desperately to sort out her feelings for him, something she had apparently done before. It would also give her a chance to catch up with part of her family that she hadn't seen in years.

Peter Hastings was John and Grayson Gilbert's first cousin, which made his children Elena and Jeremy's second cousins. Since the Hastings family lived in Pennsylvania Elena and Jeremy had never spent much time with Melissa and Spencer. She had only met them a few times during her twenty-one years, and the last time had been at her grandfather's funeral twelve years ago. Elena had been nine, Jeremy and Spencer had been eight, and Melissa had been somewhere in her teens. Elena wasn't exactly certain how old her oldest cousin was.

When she had called to ask if they would mind her coming for a visit Veronica had said it would be fine. Elena had cautiously replied that she wasn't sure when asked how long she would be staying. She had explained that she simply needed some time away from her life in Mystic Falls to clear her head and figure some things out, and Veronica hadn't seemed to mind. She had been told she was welcome to stay however long she liked, which had been a relief because she really didn't want to have just a quick vacation. She wanted a fresh start.

A few days after talking to Veronica Spencer had called, interrupting Caroline's impassioned pleas for Elena to stay. Elena had gladly accepted the call, having grown tired of Caroline insisting that she could work things out just fine where she was.

Spencer had informed her that her parents had gotten divorced and Peter had moved to Philly. Melissa had quit her job in London and moved back home, taking back her old room in the main house so she could be close to Spencer after everything that had happened. Elena would be staying in the barn apartment, and Spencer was looking forward to her arrival.

It had been hard leaving everyone behind, including Damon and Enzo, but she had done it for her own good and was certain that she would be ready to return home in a few months at the most. She had been excited the entire drive up to Rosewood, looking forward to a life with all new people and places and no supernatural anything.

When she had arrived at the Hastings house after driving through a town that looked very much like Mystic Falls in all its small town charm Veronica had been at work and Spencer had been at school. Melissa had been the one to open the door when she rang the bell, and it had completely thrown her for a loop. She was in a different town, a different state, an entirely different part of the country. She had left behind everyone she knew and hadn't expected to see one single person she recognized other than her cousins. She hadn't even expected to recognize them really because it had been so long, and yet the woman that had opened the door was terrifyingly familiar.

"Meredith?" she had uttered in complete surprise, staring at the woman in front of her.

"Melissa." Melissa had politely corrected her, assuming Elena had simply mixed up her name since they barely knew each other, with a welcoming smile and invited her inside.

Elena was stunned as she stepped into the foyer. _Not more doppelgangers,_ she had thought as she had followed Melissa further into the house. _I thought I had left all the supernatural stuff behind. What the hell's going on here?_

That had been about two weeks ago, and she still hadn't figured out why Meredith Fell and Melissa Hastings looked so much alike. She had brushed it aside and focused on getting settled when Melissa had led her out to the barn. After that the rest of the time had been filled with slightly awkward family meals because the Hastings didn't want to go into too much detail about what had gone on in Rosewood over the last few years, and Elena _couldn't_ go into too much detail about what had been going on in her life.

Veronica was out of town now and it was just Elena, Melissa, and Spencer at the house. Usually it was just Elena because Spencer had classes at Hollis College and Melissa had a job in Philly. Elena had spent much of her time the first few days exploring the house and then roaming around Rosewood. What she saw gave away nothing of the darkness that had haunted Spencer and her friends for so long. All of that was over now, and though she could still see the toll it had taken on her family, the town itself had gone back to being a normal small town. Her vampire ears had picked up nothing but run of the mill gossip as she had walked around and browsed through several of the shops downtown.

She had started a new journal and was actually considering writing a book. Possibly based on the events of the last few years and passing it off as fiction. Vampire stories were big right now, and no one would believe any of it was real unless they were in the know. And she didn't know too many people that were in the know that went around reading vampire novels. Caroline had thrown out her Twilight books when they had first moved into the dorm, saying that Damon had been right and Edward Cullen was now insulting to her as a vampire.

_Maybe I should just change the names and publish my journals_, she thought as she sat on the couch sucking on a blood bag. She was _so_ glad they had put her in the barn where she could easily stash her mini fridge full of blood bags in the closet where no one was likely to run across it too easily.

_I could change the main character, me, to…Eleanor Grayson,_ she smiled to herself as someone knocked on the door, _and called it The Vampire Diaries._

She knew it was Spencer at the door, coming to see if she was ready to leave. She wasn't. She was still in her pajamas. But that wasn't a problem. She quickly drained the last few drops of blood from the bag, stashed the empty in a hidden trash can, and used her vampire speed to get ready in just a few seconds.

She was standing in front of the dresser, fastening her necklace when Spencer knocked again.

"Come in!" she called.

The door swung open and Spencer came in to find Elena dressed in a cropped tank top printed in shades of purple, over a solid navy tank top, and a pair of skinny jeans. She was finger-fluffing her long brown curls after having put on her necklace.

"Hey." Elena said, casting a smile at her cousin and picking up a pair of earrings. "Almost ready."

Spencer smiled and made herself comfortable on the couch. Elena's outfit looked like something Emily might wear, and it was obvious that her style had changed some because this outfit looked nothing like what she had been wearing in the pictures she had showed Spencer. Spencer's own style had changed some after Alison had been sent away, but she was happily back to her knee socks and riding boots because she had realized that she couldn't change who she was. No matter how badly she wanted to.

"How's the writing coming?" she asked conversationally as Elena slipped on a small handful of thin rings to go along with the one she always wore. Spencer wondered what the story behind it was, but hadn't asked yet.

Elena picked up a jean jacket and pulled it on, freeing her hair from the jacket and then her daylight ring from her hair. "It's not really, but I'm not in any hurry." _My real life would make a perfect fiction novel with a few minor adjustments if I can't come up with something else. Write what you know, or what you lived. _"How's school?"

"Good." Spencer replied.

Elena pulled on a pair of socks followed by a pair of brown combat boots, and looked at Spencer's lace peplum top, plaid jacket, and knee socks peaking out of riding boots over her jeans. An amused smile tugged at her lips. "We don't exactly look like we go together, do we?"

Spencer shrugged. "That's nothing new to me. My friends and I all had completely different styles."

Elena took in Spencer's nostalgic expression and wondered briefly what had driven four girls that were obviously so close away from each other. Was it only the stalker and the mysteries that had bound them so tightly together, or could they simply not look at each other without thinking about everything that had happened?

"Well," she said cheerfully, channeling Caroline, "I'm ready to check out this Fall Festival. Is Melissa meeting us there?"

"Yeah." Spencer said as she rose and followed Elena out of the barn. "She's helping out with the church's arts and crafts booth."

Arts and crafts. That was something Elena hadn't done in a long time. Maybe she would tonight. Damon would probably think it was silly and childish, but did she really care what Damon thought? Maybe. She was no longer sure on anything that had to do with Damon Salvatore.

%%%

"I need coffee." Spencer announced as they approached a place called The Rear Window Brew.

Elena had been in there the other day, and had immediately fallen in love with the place. She followed Spencer inside and collided with her just beyond the door.

Spencer had frozen in her tracks and before Elena could ask if everything was okay she turned around and left. Elena hurried to catch up with her and grabbed her wrist.

"Hey!" she called out. "What was that about?"

"Nothing." Spencer said.

"You said you wanted coffee."

"Actually I said I _needed_ coffee, but I changed my mind."

Still holding Spencer's wrist so that she couldn't run away Elena turned to look through the front windows of the café. She quickly spotted the cause of Spencer's sudden mood swing, recognizing the girl from old pictures. Emily Fields was working this evening.

"Well, I want coffee." Elena lied. "You go ahead and I'll catch up with you."

Spencer nodded and practically ran in the other direction. Elena went back inside and ordered to go, moving to the comfy looking sofa to wait. It wasn't long before it was ready, and Emily was the one that delivered it.

"You're Spencer and Melissa's cousin, right?" Emily asked as she set the cup holder with three hot drinks on the table.

Elena nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I'm Elena. You're Emily, right?"

"How did you know?" Emily asked, sounding somewhat suspicious.

Elena smiled again. "I recognized you from some pictures Spencer showed me."

"Oh." Emily said. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

"You too."

Emily turned to leave, but paused and turned back with a hesitant look on her face. "Can I ask you something, Elena?"

"Sure."

"How is Spencer?"

"She's okay I guess." Elena replied. "To be honest I think she's still having a bit of a hard time with everything, but I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time with her yet."

"Thanks."

"Can I ask you something?" Elena called out as Emily turned to leave again.

"I have customers." Emily said.

"It'll only take a minute." Elena promised, holding Emily's gaze and compelling her. "Sit."

Emily obediently sat down beside Elena, but looked confused as to why she had done it.

"I compelled you." Elena explained. "I'm a vampire, but you're not going to remember that after I leave."

Emily nodded. "What do you want?"

Elena was a little surprised that Emily didn't look the slightest bit afraid. "I want you to tell me the truth."

"About what?"

"What happened between the four of you?"

"Hanna moved to New York." Emily said, not really understanding why she couldn't resist the need to answer Elena's questions. "Aria pushed us all away, and Spencer and I drifted apart."

Elena caught a glimpse of something in Emily's dark eyes as they shifted away and shook her head. "The _truth_, Emily. Spencer freaked out when she saw you in here. What happened between you two?"

"We had a fight." Emily admitted.

"About?" Elena didn't really want to pry, but she needed some information if she was going to help Spencer, who was so clearly holding on to the past as hard as she could even though she was somehow moving forward at the same time. It was one of the strangest things Elena had ever seen, and that was probably pretty impressive considering what her life had been the last few years.

"Ali." Emily said, and volunteered the next bit of information on her own. "I knew what she was, but I still couldn't get over her. Not completely. Spencer had a problem with that. We had a fight, and now we don't talk anymore."

"Are you completely over Ali now?" Elena asked.

"No." Emily said. "I don't think I ever will be."

"Do you want to be?"

Emily gazed at Elena with a look that answered the question without words.

"I can help with that." Elena said. "I can make you forget your feelings for her."

Emily looked confused. "How?"

"I can compel you to get over her."

"Right now?"

"If you want."

"No." Emily said, despite the fact that she _did_ want Ali gone. Unfortunately there was still a part of her that wasn't ready to let go.

Elena understood. "If you change your mind come find me."

"You said I wouldn't remember any of this after you leave."

"You won't." Elena confirmed. "You'll remember that we met and you asked me about Spencer. You'll remember my answer. Then you went back to work. You won't remember that I compelled you or that I'm a vampire, but you'll know that I can help you when you decide that you're ready to get Spencer back."

"Okay." Emily agreed. "Can I go now?"

"Yes." Elena picked up her order and left to track down Spencer.


	4. Chapter 4: How Nice To Meet You

Chapter 4: How Nice To Meet You

"Hey." Elena said when she finally found Spencer at the church booth. She held out the cup meant for Spencer. "I don't know what you like, but I figured caffeine is caffeine."

Spencer smiled and took the cup, taking a sip before speaking. "Yum. Thanks."

Elena smiled and removed the third cup from the holder Emily had given her. She held it out to Melissa. "And one for you."

"You are an angel!" Melissa gushed as she accepted the drink.

"Not quite." Elena said, watching as her cousins consumed the vervain spiked beverages. She always carried a small vile now just in case. "I have a question for you, Melissa."

"Shoot."

Elena sipped her own very lightly vervained drink and tried her best to hide the slight wince at the burning she wasn't quite immune to yet. She had been following Katherine's example and trying to build up a tolerance so the toxin wouldn't be quite so damaging, but it was taking time. If either of them noticed the face she made they didn't say anything.

"Do you know anyone with the last name Fell?"

"Fell?" Melissa repeated, running through a list of names in her head. "Not that I know of."

"Do you?" Elena asked, turning to Spencer.

Spencer shook her head. "I don't think so. Why?"

"I have a friend back home that could be your twin." She said to Melissa. She had had more than her fair share of doppelgangers, and she wanted to know the reason why she seemed to have run into another one. She also wanted to know if there were any other supernatural people in her family tree. If it turned out that they were candidates for the former Other Side she wanted to warn them that their troubles may not be over simply because a sociopathic teenage murderer had been locked up. In her experience it was impossible for a supernatural anything to live in peace for very long. This was the longest she had been able to go with out some sort of drama popping up since she had met Stefan, and it had only been a few months since their determined search for a way to lift the anti-magic spell on Mystic Falls had ended successfully.

"As far as I know I don't have any twins, but they say everyone has seven doppelgangers roaming around." Melissa said, seemingly unphased but slightly intrigued. "At least I think it's seven."

_Or four_, Elena thought. As far as she knew anyway. She knew she was the last living Amara doppelganger, but she didn't know exactly how many there had been over the years besides Tatia, Katherine, and herself. For all she knew there had been seven of them.

"Do you want to make some sand art?" Melissa asked cheerfully, not really expecting either of them to take her up on the offer.

Elena smiled. "Yes."

Spencer chuckled at Elena's enthusiasm and set her coffee on the table. "Sure. Why not?"

Instead of taking up space out front they walked around the table and into the tent with Melissa. She provided them with the necessary supplies and they made themselves comfortable on the ground in a corner where they would be out of the way.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've done something like this?" Spencer asked as she funneled a layer of dark red sand into the bottom of a leaf shaped bottle.

Elena smiled, pouring a thicker layer of red into her own leaf. "No, but I know the feeling. I haven't had a lot of time for silly things like this since my junior year of high school."

Spencer gave her a look that said _me too_. "Because of your parents?"

Elena nodded. "Yeah. When they died our Aunt Jenna moved in with us, but Jeremy was in a bad place and I had to help her keep him out of trouble. Then there was school stuff and Mystic Falls stuff. Then Jenna died…"

"Your aunt died too?"

"Yeah."

"Another accident?"

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time." was all Elena offered. "If it hadn't been for Alaric Jeremy and I would've been totally lost."

"Who's Alaric?" Spencer asked curiously, trying to keep things straight in her head. That had been a little difficult for her lately.

Elena smiled automatically. "Well, he started out as my history teacher after the football coach died. Then he sort of became frienemies with my boyfriend's brother and started dating Jenna. After I found out that I was adopted it didn't take much to figure out that his wife and my birth mom were the same person. She had abandoned him, which is why he ended up in Mystic Falls. He was looking for her, but he found Jenna instead. Isobel died, Jenna died, and my Uncle John, who was also my birth father died not long after Jenna, and Ric was the only parent we had left." _Then he died. Then Jeremy died. Then they both came back._

"Damn." Spencer said. "Mystic Falls sounds just as bad as Rosewood. Of course they probably all died in accidents or by natural causes."

Elena nodded. "Pretty much." _Jenna was murdered, and my parents killed themselves. Ric went crazy and died because his life was linked to mine and I drowned. _

"Ezra! Hi!" Melissa said from a few feet away.

Spencer was on her feet and at the table so fast Elena wasn't so sure she wasn't a vampire. She knew that Spencer was still in love with Toby even though they weren't together at the moment due to the stress caused by A and Alison DiLaurentis, but Spencer seemed really excited to see Ezra and Elena was curious to see who he was. She stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants as she walked over to the table.

She was taken aback for a moment when she saw the man she assumed was Ezra. The resemblance wasn't uncanny, but the dark hair and blue eyes instantly made her think of Damon. Ezra's eyes were darker than Damon's and his hair was really dark brown instead of black, but it was close enough. There was also something faintly similar about the structure of his face although she wouldn't exactly say the two men looked alike. And Ezra certainly didn't dress like Damon. Nothing about this man even hinted at trouble, let alone danger. Safe was the word that came to mind.

"How's Aria?" Spencer asked eagerly after greeting him with a quick hug as Elena stood beside her.

"She's good." He said, giving Elena a polite smile of acknowledgement. "I talked to her before I left. She got to Whitmore alright and she's going to a party with her roommates."

Spencer smiled. "Good."

"Whitmore?" Elena asked, surprised to hear the name of the school she had recently dropped out of.

"It's a small college in Virginia." Spencer explained.

"I know." Elena said. "I just dropped out of it. It's near Mystic Falls."

Spencer heard the faint alarm in Elena's voice, but said nothing about it. If something was wrong with Aria being in Mystic Falls she didn't think Ezra needed to hear about it right now.

Elena was suddenly worried about a girl she had never met. Aria had run from the lingering demons in Rosewood only to try and start over in an equally dangerous town.

"Ezra, this is my cousin Elena Gilbert." Spencer said. "Elena, this is Ezra Fitz, my former teacher and fellow A victim. Actually, you two would probably get along pretty well."

"Oh?" Ezra inquired.

"You're both writers." Spencer explained, hoping she didn't sound like she was trying to set them up. Elena was single, but Aria and Ezra hadn't actually broken up when she left.

Ezra looked interested as he turned his attention to Elena. "You write?"

"Yeah, but can you excuse me for a minute?" she replied, pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket. "I need to make a call."

"It can't wait?" Spencer asked. She had been excited to see Ezra because she wanted to know how Aria was doing, but she didn't really want to be left alone with him. She still wasn't ready for that.

Elena didn't answer. She was too busy dialing and walking away to find a more private place.

"Elena?" Caroline's voice filled her ear.

"Can you do me a huge favor, Care?" Elena asked immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Caroline asked.

"No, but it could be." Elena said. "I need your help."

"What is it?"

"Spencer's friend just moved down there, and I'm worried about her." Elena explained. "The last few years Spencer and her friends were stalked and tormented by a girl that had tricked them into thinking she was their friend. She and a bunch of other people tortured these girls and their families for two and a half years, and a lot of people ended up dead. Apparently Aria's having a really hard time dealing with all of it, and she transferred to Whitmore to start over."

"Wait." Caroline said. "Aria? Aria Montgomery?"

"Yeah." Elena confirmed. "Have you met her?"

"Elena, Aria is our new roommate." Caroline explained.

"Good." Elena said. "Can you and Bonnie keep and eye on her and make sure she doesn't get hurt? She was trying to find somewhere to feel safe and she ran right into a town full of vampires. Ivy's not under control yet, and who knows what Aria might end up caught in the middle of."

"Oh, trust me." Caroline said. "We're keeping an eye on her. I'm glad you told me all that though, because she _freaked out_ tonight at William Forbes' birthday party. Damon managed to calm her down and he and Stefan took her back to the boarding house."

"Okay. Care?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't let her get turned into a vampire."

"Absolutely not." Caroline said, verbally putting her foot down. "I don't know what all is going on with her, but there's no way she could handle it as a vampire. Tonight was…crazy."

_With a capital A,_ Elena thought, but didn't say it. Aria deserved to be able to share her secrets on her own terms. Elena had only said as much as she had because she wanted Caroline to know that Aria probably wasn't cut out for Mystic Falls drama. She got off the phone with Caroline and made her way back to the booth. Ezra was still there, chatting with Spencer.

"Sorry about that." Elena apologized, smiling at Ezra. "Family emergency."

"Is Jeremy okay?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah. Ric has everything under control."

Ezra wondered how she knew there had been a family emergency when she hadn't had her phone out until she had decided she had to make a call.

"So, Ezra." Elena said, turning to him and sounding alarmingly like Katherine. "How do you feel about vampire stories?"

"Are you writing one?" he asked.

"I'm thinking about it." she admitted. "Two vampire brothers that hate each other return to their hometown a century later. One of them wants to free the girl they both loved, that turned them, from a tomb she's been magically trapped in for a hundred and fifty years. The other one came back because he found a girl in this town that looks exactly like the one he and his brother both loved and lost. Think people would read it?"

"I would." Spencer said. "And I'm really not into the whole vampire thing."

Ezra nodded. "It sounds interesting."

_That's one way to put it_, she thought. "Maybe I will write it. Just to see what happens."

"If you need any help with editing…" he offered.

Elena smiled at him. "I'll let you know."

_The Vampire Diaries, by Elena Gilbert._ She liked the sound of it, but she would need more than just her journals. Most of them had burned with Jeremy's body, but at least she could use all the others as a guide. And maybe she would have Ric undo his compulsion her so that she had the correct memories to work with. It was worth a shot at least even if she never published it.

She pulled out her phone once more and typed out a text to Stefan. _Working on a project. I need the journals._

_Which ones? _He texted back.

_All of them._


	5. Chapter 5: Brand New Day

Chapter 5: Brand New Day

Aria had no idea where she was when she woke up.

She remembered that they had rented a mini van and loaded everything up last night, then she and her entire family had risen before the sun to make the trip from Rosewood to Whitmore that had taken somewhere between five and six hours. They had arrived at the hotel her family would be staying at before going home tomorrow, and they had all gotten settled in. Then the whole group had piled back into the van and driven to the campus that would be her new home for the duration of the school year. Classes hadn't actually started yet so her new roommates, Caroline and Bonnie had been there to meet everyone. After her family had gone back to the hotel, or possibly to explore the area some, Caroline and Bonnie had helped her unpack her things quickly and then convinced her to go to a birthday party for a man long dead. She had met several of their other friends, and the evening had been lovely.

Even after Caroline's speech when she had been off by herself in a corner watching everyone else having fun she had been enjoying herself. She was a writer after all, and observation was important. She hadn't felt all that social either once she had seen how close-knit this group of friends was. It had reminded her of how she used to be with the girls back in Rosewood. But even with that sad, nostalgic feeling washing over her she had been fine.

Until Enzo had called her Miss Montgomery like Ezra had when she had been in his class. She was sure he hadn't meant to upset her, but that had messed with her head a little because she felt sort of like she had abandoned him by leaving Rosewood, and she had needed air.

After that she remembered expertly fighting off a panic attack in the driveway of the very large house that belonged to Tyler Lockwood, whom she now went to school with, and then being scared half to death by a man lurking behind her. She assumed that had lead to another breakdown, and that it had been worse than the others she had experienced since the night Ali had tried to roast her and Hanna because she couldn't remember it.

There was a hole in her memory between Mystery Man, whom she vaguely remembered introducing himself as Devon or something similar, catching her and waking up here. Wherever here was.

She looked around the room and saw cozy, antique-looking furniture all built of some kind of dark wood. The upholstery on the chairs, the drapes at the windows, the rug on the floor, and the bedding she was currently burrowed in was all shades of golds and creams and light grays. It was a lovely, impersonal room, but she had no idea where it was.

Clearly this wasn't the room she had moved in to only yesterday. Had Caroline and Bonnie decided she was insane and sent her to some Whitmore/Mystic Falls equivalent of Radley? If so this place was way nicer that Radley could ever hope to be, but she had no intentions of staying. If Caroline and Bonnie no longer wanted to live with her she would figure something out, but there was no way she was staying in a mental hospital. She wasn't crazy. She was just tortured and broken and she was determined to fix herself in a way that she was free to come and go from places as she pleased without doctors and nurses watching over her as if she might go berserk. That's why she had left behind her family, the remnants of her friends, Ezra, and the only home she had ever known.

She was about to throw the covers back and get up to see if she was locked in when the door opened and a familiar perky blonde walked in. Aria was insanely relieved to see Caroline. That meant that even if they had checked her in somewhere she hadn't totally scared them off.

"Good morning, Roomie!" Caroline chirped and set a tray of food on the dresser before seating herself on the edge of the bed. She beamed a bright smile at Aria, once again reminding her a little of Hanna. "Did you sleep alright?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah. Where am I?"

Caroline looked a little hesitant for a moment, as if she wasn't sure how to answer the question. Finally she said, "You kind of went crazy on us last night."

"That's what I thought." Aria mumbled.

"That's happened before?" Caroline asked.

Aria nodded. "This one must've been really bad because I don't remember it."

"What _do_ you remember?" Caroline asked.

"Some insanely hot stranger scaring the life out of me."

Caroline smiled at her description. "Damon Salvatore. Stefan's brother."

Aria nodded. She knew Devon hadn't sounded quite right. "So you know him?"

"I've known Damon for a few years. We have a very special connection." Caroline said. "Don't worry. You're safe with him. He was a little…well, a lot reckless when I first met him, but he's pretty much tamed now."

Aria nodded, but didn't say anything. Instead she simply looked down at her hands in her lap and began picking at her nail polish. She realized that she was wearing someone's black v-neck t-shirt. She looked back up at Caroline to ask who it belonged to, but Caroline wasn't finished explaining things yet.

"Damon found you curled up in the driveway last night and he thought you might be hurt." Caroline said. "He didn't mean to scare you."

"I was having a panic attack." Aria explained. "It's easier for me to get my breathing under control and stop it if I curl up like that. I was okay until I turned around and saw him."

"Enzo came and found Bonnie and me and told us that you didn't seem to be feeling very well." Caroline continued. "I went out to find you and ask if we needed to take you back to Whitmore, and you were really upset about something. You looked like a very scared, very cornered animal. Damon and I tried to calm you down, but you freaked out."

"I'm sorry." Aria apologized, not knowing exactly what she had done. "Did I hurt anyone?"

The last time she had freaked out she had accidentally hit Ezra in the face and spilt his lip open because she had suddenly felt very claustrophobic and he had tried to hold her. Her ring had caught his lip just right, and he had actually needed more stitches. In one of her earlier episode, before she had unofficially moved in with Ezra she had torn apart a stuffed animal with her bare hands and gutted it of its stuffing because she had been so frightened and angry.

"You pushed me away when I tried to help calm you down, but I'm fine." Caroline said. "You just really scared us."

"I'm sorry." Aria repeated. "That's not the first impression I wanted to make."

Caroline gave her a soft, reassuring smile and clasped her hand comfortingly. "It's okay, Aria. Whatever you're dealing with, whatever you're running from, you don't have to do it alone. I'm sure everyone back in Rosewood told you the same thing, but it's true. Bonnie and I are willing to help in any way we can. So is everyone else. We were all really worried about you last night, and I'm so glad to see that you're doing better this morning."

Caroline decided not to tell Aria that Elena had called and filled her in on a little of what was going on. It was probably better that she make the decision to share her troubled past with them on her own. She got up and cast another bright, reassuring smile on her new friend.

"I brought you some clothes and things from Whitmore so you can get dressed and brush your teeth." Caroline said. "And Damon fixed you a nice, big pancake breakfast. Try to eat some of it, and get some more sleep if you want. I'll be downstairs if you need me. This place is pretty big, so call me if you can't find me, but you'll probably run into someone and they can help you with whatever you need. Okay?"

Aria nodded, feeling safer than she had since receiving the very first A message. "Caroline?" she called, as the blonde turned to leave.

Caroline turned back, her face still smiling. "Yeah?"

"You never told me where I am."

"Damon and Stefan's house in Mystic Falls." Caroline answered. "We figured it would be better to bring you here last night instead of taking you all the way back to Whitmore. That's Damon's shirt, by the way, and I promise, Aria. You're safe here. You have no _idea_ how safe you are with us."

Caroline left with a smile, closing the door behind her and leaving Aria to ponder what she had just said. She didn't care how safe Caroline thought they could keep her. If Ali escaped or was released for some reason no one could keep her safe. The only way she would be safe if Ali got loose was if she was already dead before Alison could murder her.

She looked at the tray of food on the dresser. It probably wasn't vegan because Damon had no way of knowing that she was, but right now she didn't care. She was starving and got out of bed to retrieved the tray, hoping that since the food was brought up to her no one would mind if she got a few crumbs in the soft sheets.

The dress she had worn last night was hanging on the closet door, or maybe it was the bathroom door, and her jacket, tights, bra, and purse were lying neatly on one of the chairs. Her boots were in the floor, leaning against the chair, and her jewelry and headband were gathered on the dresser. The second chair contained a neatly folded stack of clothes and a bag that probably contained whatever toiletries Bonnie and Caroline had thought she might need.

She smiled as she cut off a bite of syrupy pancake and placed it in her mouth. "Yum."

She may not be safe from Alison, but something in her gut told her that she could trust these people. They would take care of her and help her get better if she let them.

The only problem was that she wasn't sure it would be so easy for her to let them help. She and her friends had relied on only each other to fight A off for so long, and so passionately in an attempt to keep their loved ones safe, Aria wasn't sure she knew how to turn over the reigns and let someone help her. Her family had tried and she had runoff to live with Ezra. Ezra had tried and she had run off to another state. What would she do if she started to feel smothered here or like she was putting her new friends in danger simply by knowing them? Where else could she to run to?

How did you escape from your own mind?


	6. Chapter 6: Complicated

Chapter 6: Complicated

After eating every last bite of the meal that had been provided for her Aria found the bathroom, took a shower, and checked out the pile of clean clothes.

Caroline had either thought she might get cold or had decided to bring her a choice of tops because there were two. A white and navy striped t-shirt with three-quarter sleeves, and a gray t-shirt with a faded skull on the front and short black butterfly sleeves. Being who she was she put them both on. The jeans were dark gray acid wash and ripped up and down each leg. She put them on since she didn't have any other choices, getting her toes caught in the rips several times and finally zipping and buttoning them once she had them on all the way.

Once she was fed, washed, and dressed she left the room with bare feet and damp hair and began to explore the house, hoping to find Damon so she could apologize for freaking out on him last night and thank him for taking care of her.

The house was huge and full of beautifully carved railings, banisters, and furniture, all in dark shades. It wasn't exactly imposing, but there wasn't much about it that she would label cheerful. Except Caroline.

On her tour of the Salvatore house she came across several built-in bookshelves crammed full of books, some of which looked like they had been amassed and passed down over several generations. She found herself daydreaming about reading some of them as she wandered from room to room, of which there were several. However, she didn't find any people until she stepped into a large library with floor to ceiling shelves lining every wall, and found Damon lounging comfortably on a sofa with a book in one hand and the other reaching for a glass of what looked like bourbon on the coffee table.

As she entered the room, making no sounds that her ears could detect, his hand paused halfway to the glass and he sat up, placing the book pages down on the table. He smiled at her, and although it was a happy smile it was also a mysterious smile. And a slightly seductive smile, but looking at him now in a lighted room it was clear to her that everything he did probably had a seductive air to it and it was probably all on purpose.

"Good morning." He greeted her. "Sleep well?"

She nodded, feeling just a tiny bit flustered under his gaze. "Yeah. Thanks for breakfast. I haven't had scrambled eggs in forever. It was delicious."

Damon thought she probably hadn't eaten a lot of things in a very long time as he looked at her. You couldn't really tell now because her clothes helped to hide it, but when he had held her in his arms last night he had been able to feel just how thin she was. He had made her a big breakfast this morning hoping she would eat at least some of it because the girl definitely needed some meat on her bones.

"No problem." He said. "I've gotten very good at making pancakes recently. I'm glad you enjoyed them."

She was quiet for a moment, but finally moved further into the room and stood near the couch. "I also wanted to apologize for freaking out on you last night. I don't remember what happened after you scared me, but Caroline filled me in. I haven't really been in a good place lately."

Clearly. Damon picked up the glass and took a sip, aware that it was still fairly early in the morning. But he didn't really care. Day drinking was nothing new to him.

"Has that happened before?" he asked.

She nodded. "A few times, but I usually remember it afterward. I guess I blacked out."

He had considered compelling the event from her mind, but decided that having an unexplained hole in her memory probably wouldn't help any so he had simply given her a t-shirt to sleep in and shown her to a room after she had turned down the offer of food.

"Let me know if I'm crossing any lines here, but can I ask you something?"

"Um…okay." She said hesitantly. Of course he would be curious since he was obviously concerned, but she was so far away from ready to spill her guts about what had happened to her it wasn't even funny.

"This may sound weird, but is Alison dead by chance?" Damon asked.

Aria felt the corner of her mouth turn up in a small, involuntary smile and was surprised when her voice came out with a teasing tone. "Why? You think I'm being haunted by a ghost? Do you believe in that stuff?"

Damon gave her a half smile that conveyed the amusement, but hid the irony he felt at that moment. "Let's just say I've seen a few things that point in that direction. Do you?"

"Believe in ghosts?" she asked to make certain that's what he meant. When he nodded she thought about it for a moment. She had never actually _seen_ anything that made her believe ghosts were real, but she had heard Caleb's stories about Ravenswood and she knew he wasn't the type to lie about something like that. "Maybe."

"So what about Alison?" he asked, hoping he wasn't pushing too much. "Last night…"

She cut him off. "Alison's not a ghost. Not a dead one anyway."

Damon nodded. "But she's still haunting you."

Aria sat on the arm of the couch with a heavy sigh. "Let's just say that Alison DiLaurentis is not someone you easily forget."

"Just so you know, I do know a little bit about your situation." He admitted, not wanting to end up in a place where she hated him because she felt she had been lied to. Again. He liked her.

"What do you mean?"

As Damon was opening his mouth to explain Stefan came in and interrupted.

"Feeling better?" he asked the little brunette perched on the sofa.

"Much." She replied and looked back at Damon, still waiting for an explanation.

But Damon's attention was on his brother as Stefan crossed the room and, to Aria's surprise, pulled open a door hidden in the shelves to reveal a small room that she couldn't see into clearly.

"What are you doing, Stefan?" Damon asked, sounding like he though his brother might be doing something stupid or dangerous.

Stefan entered the closet and spoke over his shoulder as he did whatever it was he had gone in to do. "Elena wants the journals for some project she's working on."

"Which journals?" Damon asked.

"All of them." Stefan replied. "So it looks like I'm going to Rosewood for a few days."

"Rosewood?" Aria asked, alarmed evident in her voice.

Stefan stopped whatever he was doing in the closet and stepped out, flashing her a smile. "That's your hometown, right? Do you want to come with me? Your classes haven't started yet, so you've got time."

Her eyes went dark. "Rosewood is the last place I want to be. That's why I'm here."

Stefan nodded and dropped the subject. He didn't know what was going on in her life, but after what happened last night he wasn't about to poke the bear. "I'll be back in a few days. Make sure Enzo doesn't kill Ivy, Damon."

"I'm not making any promises." Damon said. "But if Elena wants _all_ of the journals you might as well make sure you get them all."

"Who's Elena?" Aria asked curiously.

"Jeremy's sister." Stefan replied.

At the same time Damon said. "Our ex-girlfriend."

Aria registered both answers, but only reacted to one. She looked from Stefan to Damon, amusement clear on her face. "Wait. You two both dated the same girl?"

Stefan shrugged, wordlessly telling her it wasn't a big deal. At least not anymore.

"And it's not the first time." Damon said as he stood up.

Aria was intrigued, but didn't ask anymore questions.

"What do you mean make sure I get all of them?" Stefan asked, shifting back to the journals. "All the Forbes, Fell, Lockwood, Gilbert, _and_ Salvatore journals are in here, Damon."

Aria recognized the names of Mystic Falls founding families, names of several people she had met last night and two she was currently with, and was further intrigued.

"Not _all_ the Gilbert journals."

"All but the ones that were lost when Elena's house burned down." Stefan said.

Damon shook his head. "Wrong again, brother. I managed to save Elena _and_ Jeremy's journals before the house burned down. I figured they might want them some day. Looks like I was right."

"So where are they?"

"In a box at the back of my closet." Damon replied. "I'm surprised Elena never found them."

With that Damon walked out of the room and Stefan asked Aria if she would help him box up the journals. There were a lot of them.

"How far back do these go?" she asked as they worked, filling box after box.

"The 1800s." Stefan said. "Generations of founding family members kept detailed journals and passed them down to their kids so they would have a record of their family histories."

It wasn't a complete lie, but Stefan wasn't about to tell her the real reason the founding families had kept detailed journals.

"Wow." Aria said. "How did you and Damon end up with all of them?"

"We wanted to make sure they stayed safe for future generations." Stefan lied easily. The real reason they had them was so no one else could get a hold of them, and the Salvatore house had plenty of places to hide them.

Damon came back with a box of journals and set it on the table.

Aria carried the box she had just filled to the table and struggled to close the cardboard flaps. "You still owe me an explanation, Damon."

He sat back down on the couch, practically flopping, and watched as she finally managed to weave the flaps together. He picked up his glass and leaned back. "When Elena told me she was going to stay with some family in Rosewood I wanted to know a little more about it. Our relationship is a little…complicated right now."

"That's an understatement." Stefan commented. "I think dysfunctional might be a better adjective for you and Elena."

Damon shot his brother a look Aria couldn't quite read. "I'm sticking with complicated."

"I just think you should use a more fitting word so she truly understands just how _complicated_ it is." Stefan teased.

"Trust me." She said. "I know complicated. Dating your English teacher while a super stalker is on the loose threatening to spill every secret you have and every lie you've ever told is complicated."

The Salvatores simply stared at her, both obviously surprised at the information. Aria was surprised to. She was shocked that she had just blurted all of that out so easily.

"Your English teacher." Stefan said. "Wow. Can you beat that, Damon?"

"Shut up, Stefan." Damon turned back to Aria, ignoring his brother and the confession she had just made. "Anyway, things between Elena and I are complicated, but I still want to make sure she's safe."

"I get that too." Aria said. Even after she had found out about Ezra's book she had still wanted to keep him safe.

"So I googled Rosewood, Pennsylvania, and was amazed at what I found." Damon said. "I had no idea that one of the girls I had been reading about would have a mental breakdown on me a couple of weeks later."

"How much do you know?" she asked.

"Enough to understand why you freaked out last night after Bonnie told me where you're from and I realized who you are." He replied. "But don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me. I've got a few of my own."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I'm a vampire." He said in a spooky whisper and jerked his eyebrows up. He drew his lips back, flashing his teeth, and made a quiet hissing sound.

Aria laughed. "Of course you are. Don't worry. I won't go digging into whatever dark past you may have. I get what it's like to have secrets you don't want anyone to know, and I know exactly how if feels to have those secrets threatened."

With that she got up and left the room.

Stefan listened, waiting until she was definitely out of earshot and looked at his brother. "I wonder what she would do if she knew you were telling the truth just then."

"After last night I don't think I want to find out." Damon replied and turned to look at the new occupant of the room. "Hey, Ric. What brings you to our humble abode so early in the morning?"

"He's going to Rosewood with me." Stefan explained as he carried a box of journals out of the room.

Ric picked up the two boxes on the table. "And I wanted to check on Aria."

"She's fine." Damon assured him. "She's fed, she's sane, and no matter what she might think, there's no way Alison can get to her now."

Alaric had done some research on Aria herself after the scene she had caused last night and he knew exactly who Alison was. "What if she gets out? Aria seems to think she'll try to kill her again, and from what I read I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to track her down here."

Damon's voice took on a protectiveness that was mirrored in his face and body language. "If Alison DiLaurentis shows up here, I'll kill the bitch before she can even say hello. That girl upstairs has been through enough, and she just happened to end up in a town full of people that are more than capable of putting a stop to a serial killer."

"Damon," Alaric said, dryly. "_You're _a serial killer."

"_Was_." Damon corrected. "I _was_ a serial killer. I'm all better now."

Alaric rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

Damon's thoughts turned back to Aria. He wanted to protect her, but not only because of what she had been through. He felt a connection to her because there was something about her that reminded him of Elena. They were both haunted by tragedies that were directly connected to them.

While Alaric and Stefan were loading boxes of leather bound books into Alaric's truck Damon abandoned his book and bourbon and headed upstairs.

The door to the room he had put Aria in last night was open, but he didn't see her as first because she was so small and was curled up in one of the arm chairs that faced away from the door. She was reading a small paperback book he assumed she had had stashed in her purse, and he only realized exactly where she was when he heard the soft rustling sound of a page turning.

"Hey." He said quietly.

She twisted around and looked at him over the back of the chair. Only the upper half of her face was visible, but he could tell by her eyes that she was smiling.

Aria marked her place with her finger as she looked at Damon and wondered what it was about him that made her feel so comfortable today when she had basically been terrified of him last night.

"Hey." She replied.

"What are your plans for the day?" he asked, leaning against the door jamb and folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, last night I had planned on getting a feel for my new surroundings and then meeting my family for dinner before they head home." She answered. "Now I'm not so sure."

Damon smiled faintly. "I know my way around Whitmore. How about I give you a quick tour and then you can invite your family back here for dinner. I'll cook."

She smiled again. "That sounds great. My parents will _love _this house."

He smiled again, making a silent promise to her that he wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt her as long as he could help it. "We should get going if you want that tour. Whitmore's a couple hours away."

"Actually, I can find my way around Whitmore." She said. "If you don't mind I'd like to hang out here. I kind of love this house too. I feel safe here."

"You _are_ safe here." He assured her. "And you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like and drop by whenever you like."

They looked at each other for a moment before Damon left. Aria had no idea why she felt so safe with him, but she felt a little guilty about it. She hadn't even known Damon for a whole day yet, but she already felt safer with him than she had in a long time with Ezra. And Ezra was her boyfriend, the man she loved with all her heart. They had been through so much together over the last few years and he had always stood right by her side, but there was something about Damon that was just…different.

With a sigh, she marked her place in her book and called to inform her family of the new dinner plans. She wasn't looking forward to telling them about last night. At all.


	7. Chapter 7: One and the Same

Chapter 7: One and the Same

Two days after the night at Rosewood's fall street fair Elena was watching an old black and white movie on AMC in the barn, and taking her time with her morning blood bag while she shifted her attention between the movie and jotting down notes for the novel she had decided to take a chance on. She thought she was home alone.

Spencer's car was having engine trouble and she hadn't gotten around to getting it fixed, so Melissa had driven her to Hollis early this morning before going in to work. Veronica was still on her business trip, but she was due back today. Elena was also expecting Stefan to arrive later today with all the journals, and she planned on asking if he could help with Spencer's car. The Hastings were letting her stay with them for an indefinite amount of time. The least she could do was get them cheap automotive care.

Her attention had been focused on the movie and her notes so she hadn't heard Melissa return home after dropping Spencer off at Hollis, and when she heard the vehicle pull into the driveway she assumed it was the taxi bringing Veronica home. She had offered to pick her up at the airport, but her offer had been politely turned down.

"This is your vacation, Elena." Veronica had said. "You should do what you want with your time. Don't worry about me. I've taken a taxi before."

"Well, I _want_ to help you out, Veronica." Elena had argued. "I really don't mind picking up."

Veronica had smiled and shook her head. "Elena, you've spent so much time taking care of everyone else since your parents died. I want you to take care of yourself now. No one else. That's why you came here, isn't it?"

Elena hadn't been able to argue, so she had simply sighed and let Veronica have her way.

Since she wasn't really focusing on what was going on outside and she automatically assumed it was Veronica it took a while for certain things to register in her brain. Something wasn't right. Whatever vehicle was in the driveway was bigger than a taxi, more like a truck, and she could hear two men walking up to the front door. They weren't speaking so she had no idea who they were, and Stefan wasn't due to arrive for another couple of hours.

The doorbell rang and, as she was getting up to go investigate since she thought she was home alone, she heard the front door open and Alaric's shocked voice say "Meredith?"

Elena froze halfway to the door. _What the hell is Ric doing here?_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Alaric asked somewhat rudely.

"I'm sorry." Melissa said. "I think you have the wrong person. My name is Melissa."

"Another doppelganger?" Stefan's voice whispered so softly there was no chance Melissa could have heard him. But Elena did.

And so did Alaric. "You've got to be kidding me."

To Melissa he said. "I'm sorry. Maybe we have the wrong house."

"We're looking for the Hastings house." Stefan explained. "Our friend Elena Gilbert is staying with some family here in Rosewood."

"Oh, you've got the right house." Melissa said brightly, and Elena could practically see the polished, polite smile on her face. "I'm Melissa Hastings, Elena's cousin."

"Alaric Saltzman." Ric said. "And this is Stefan Salvatore. Is Elena here? We have some things for her."

"As far as I know she's still home." Melissa said. "She's staying out in the barn. I'd walk you over, but I'm already late for work and I've got to get all the way to Philadelphia. It's that way. Just knock on the door."

"Thank you." Stefan said politely.

Elena heard the front door shut and a few moments later Melissa's car started and she was gone. Elena assumed she must have forgotten something this morning and had come back for it. She opened the door and stepped outside before Alaric and Stefan arrived at the barn, giving them both a scolding look and standing with her hands on her hips.

"That's exactly why you were supposed to call me once you got into Rosewood." She said, irritation at the unexpected surprise clear in her voice. "And you could've let me know Ric was coming with you, Stefan!"

"Why didn't you just tell me the other night that you're having more doppelganger problems?" Stefan replied.

"What's going on here?" Alaric asked. "Who was that?"

"Exactly who she said she was." Elena shot back. "My cousin, Melissa. I don't know what's going on or why she looks exactly like Meredith, and that's exactly why I didn't tell you, Stefan. Because I haven't figured out the connection yet. She claims she doesn't know anyone by the name of Fell, and neither does Spencer. And I can't exactly tell them the whole truth about why I want to know. Now. Why did I not know Ric was coming?"

Both men looked vaguely like little boys who had just been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"We thought it would be fun to surprise you." Alaric admitted. "Clearly we were wrong."

Elena sighed and walked over to hug both of them. "Well, I am happy to see you. How is everyone back home?"

"Just fine." Stefan said.

"What about Aria?" Elena asked and realized her mistake when she noticed Ezra standing a few feet away. "Ezra. What are you doing here?"

He held up a book. "Spencer wanted to borrow this. She told me to leave it with you if she wasn't home. What about Aria?"

Elena sighed once more, putting her hand to her forehead, not sure how to tell him. She looked at Alaric and Stefan. "Well? How is she?"

"She's fine." Stefan said. "She's back at Whitmore with Caroline and Bonnie, and she's safe."

"Good." Elena said and motioned for them to follow. "Come inside. All of you."

Once they were in the main house and Elena had fixed everyone a cup of tea with a few drops of vervain in hers and Ezra's, she joined them in the living room for introductions and explanations.

"Ezra, these are some of my friends from home. Alaric Saltzman and Stefan Salvatore." She said. "Ric, Stefan, this is Ezra Fitz, Aria's…" she wasn't exactly certain what the relationship status between the two was at the moment so she gave Ezra a questioning look as she concluded. "Boyfriend?"

Ezra nodded. "Yeah."

She watched as the three men acknowledged each other, and was only slightly embarrassed when Ric took a sip of his tea and cringed.

All three vampires realized what had happened and were amazed that he had been able to keep from spitting tea all over the Hastings' living room.

"Elena, is this vervain tea?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry, Ric!" she apologized, covering her mouth with her hands and then quickly handing him the cup she hadn't drank out of yet. "I must've given you the wrong one. Here."

Ric took the cup and sipped. Once again he was met with an actual burning sensation as the liquid met his skin.

"What the hell?" Elena said.

Stefan took the tiniest sip possible from his own cup and cringed. "Yeah. This one's vervain too."

"The first cup was stronger." Alaric said.

"What's going on?" Ezra asked, looking extremely confused. There was nothing wrong with his tea.

The others were confused as well.

"I put vervain in mine and Ezra's, but I got the tea bags out of the cabinet in here." Elena said, trying to put the pieces together in her head.

"Wait." Alaric said. "When did you start drinking vervain?"

She got up and walked into the kitchen, opening the cabinet to check the box she had gotten the tea bags out of. "Just before I left to come here. I figured Katherine had the right idea. This box says it chamomile."

"I don't know what this is." Ezra said. "But it isn't chamomile."

Elena picked up a tea bag and tore it open, placing a few pieces of ground up tea leaves on her tongue. "It's vervain."

"Why do your cousins have vervain tea?" Alaric asked.

"Because they know." Stefan answered.

"What's going on?" Ezra repeated.

"Oh my god." Elena breathed as the pieces fell into place. She looked across the room at Alaric and Stefan, completely ignoring Ezra. "I know why Meredith and Melissa look exactly alike, and it has nothing to do with doppelgangers."

All three men looked confused. None of them said anything. Slowly she watched realization flash across Alaric and Stefan's faces.

"That's impossible." Alaric said. "Isn't it?"

"There's got to be another explanation." Stefan said. "Twins separated at birth or something. A coincidence."

Elena shot him a look that said _yeah right_. "Stefan, when has anything in our lives ever been a coincidence? It wasn't even a coincidence when we met! You sought me out because I looked so much like Katherine. And Ric! You came to Mystic Falls looking for Isobel, who just happened to be my birth mother. None of this is random!"

"Meredith's in Alaska." Alaric argued, unwilling to believe the other possibility; that he had been lied to by a woman he loved for a second time.

Elena shook her head and turned to Ezra. "Melissa was wrapped up in all the Ali stuff too, right?"

"Yeah, but…"Ezra confirmed and trailed off. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn't know what to say. All he had been trying to do was bring Spencer a book, and now it looked like he had walked into the middle of some kind of huge secret. Again. Couldn't Rosewood just be a normal town with normal citizens for a change?

Elena turned back to Stefan and Alaric, her eyes wide. "Stefan, I don't think you were in Mystic Falls when it happened, and I was only a kid when it so I've only heard bits and pieces really. But Ric, you may know more. Did Meredith ever tell you what happened to her family? Her parents and brother and sister?"

"She only told me that they died."

"Meredith Fell's family died in a camping accident when she was fifteen."

"You don't think…?" Stefan asked, implying that the camping "accident" wasn't actually an accident, but a murder. By a vampire.

Elena shrugged and sat back down. "I don't know. What I've heard is that some sparks from the fire set the tents on fire as well and they weren't able to get out in time. My entire life everyone always thought that part of the Fell family had died, _including_ Meredith."

"And then she shows up back in town years later." Stefan said. "But how do you explain that? Didn't they find the bodies?"

Elena got up again and walked into the kitchen to pick up the phone that sat discreetly on the counter. She dialed a number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Sheriff Forbes?" Elena asked. "It's Elena. I need your help with something."

"I'm not sure I can be of much help, Elena." Liz Forbes said. "I'm states away from you, and I've got the flu."

"You don't actually have to _do _anything. I just need to know if you know anything about Meredith Fell's return to Mystic Falls." Elena explained. "Didn't everyone think she died in a camping accident years ago with her family?"

"Yeah." Liz said, sounding stuffy. "I asked her about it when she came back to town. She said that she had been unable to sleep and had gone for a walk. She had realized something was wrong, but wasn't able to get back to the camp in time. Apparently the body they thought was her was actually a friend no one had known about, and she was too traumatized to come home. So she stayed in Colorado, went to medical school, and eventually decided that she had to face her demons and come home."

Elena knew that both Stefan and Alaric were listening as well, and she knew what they were both thinking. "But doesn't that sound kind of…fishy?"

"It did." Liz agreed. "It still does, but I checked her out and there was proof, Elena. What I found matched the story she told me. I looked into it for weeks after she came back, after she got involved with all of our vampire drama even, but I couldn't find one single hole. Not one flaw in the entire story. There was proof of her life in Colorado after the accident. Why are you so curious about this?"

"Because something's not right." Elena answered honestly. "But I've got it under control. I just needed to know the whole story. If what I think is going on is actually what's going on we shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"Okay." Liz said. "Well, let me know if you need anything else."

"I will." Elena promised. "Thanks."

She hung up and looked across the room at her friends. "It's not a coincidence. Melissa doesn't just _look_ like Meredith. She _is _Meredith. That's why there's vervain tea in this house. She knows, and she's trying to protect her family."

"From what?" Ezra asked, trying and failing to follow certain parts of this conversation.

"From me." Elena said honestly. She glanced at his cup on the coffee table. He had only taken a few sips, but that was more than enough. She had unknowingly added a few drops of liquid vervain to a cup of vervain tea. It was in his system and she would have to wait until it was out before she could compel him to forget about this. "I know you can keep a secret, but can we trust you not to say anything about this to anyone? Not one single word to anyone. Not even Aria if she calls you. You brought that book for Spencer, and you met Ric and Stefan briefly, but that's it."

"Okay." Ezra said, nodding and looking completely confused. "But what am I helping to cover-up? It's not going to get me arrested, is it?"

"No, but technically you're already involved."

"How?" Alaric asked.

"Because there's very little chance that I'm wrong about this." Elena said. "And if Melissa Hastings and the Meredith Fell that we know are actually the same person, then I have a feeling it's because Melissa was trying to hide from Alison."

Ezra looked up at her. "You think Melissa left Rosewood and took the identity of a dead girl just to hide from Ali?"

"I don't know all the details about what happened here, but does that not make sense?" Elena asked. "From what I've heard Alison is an extremely clever, very dangerous person."

"She's killed a lot of people." Alaric said, thinking about what he had read online since Aria's meltdown at William Forbes' birthday party a couple of nights ago. "Or at least had a hand in it in some way."

"You know about all of this?" Ezra asked.

Ric nodded. "Yeah. After Aria's meltdown the other night I did a little research. I'm sure there was a lot left out, but there's plenty of information about Alison DiLaurentis, A, and everything else available online. And if she's as dangerous as she sounds I wouldn't be surprised if Elena's right and Melissa did become Meredith to hide. It makes perfect sense."

Stefan nodded his agreement even though Elena could tell that neither one of them really wanted to believe it was true. She didn't either, but everything fit together so perfectly. After some discussion they realized that the dates that Melissa had been missing from Rosewood matched perfectly with the dates that Meredith had been in Mystic Falls, and Ezra said that Mona Vanderwaal had been more than capable of making it look like Meredith had simply been living in Colorado, too scarred to come home.

"I doubt Melissa ever went to medical school, but Wren could've taught her a few things." Ezra said. "I doubt he could've taught her enough to pass as an actual doctor at a hospital though. How did she manage to pull that off? Did she _actually_ work there or did she just say she did?"

"She did." Alaric said. "That's how we met her. She treated me. She may have been a fake, but she definitely knew what she was doing."

Only Elena and Stefan knew what that really meant; that Meredith had used vampire blood to help her patients. Now they wondered if her reasons for that were what she had told them or if it was because she simply had no medical knowledge. And how did she really find out about vampires? It was obvious now that she hadn't grown up with it.

They were careful to leave out any mention of vampires and anything else supernatural, which left some holes for Ezra, but he agreed not to say anything to anyone about their conversation. When he left Elena assured Alaric and Stefan that she would compel him as soon as the vervain was out of his system just to make sure he didn't accidentally spill their secret without realizing what he was dong.

"You'll have to confront her about it." Stefan said. "To confirm that we're right. And if we're wrong…"

"I'm risking exposing all us." Elena finished. "I know, but we have to make sure. And I really don't think we're wrong. It all makes sense, Stefan. I just don't understand why she lied to me the other day."

"She was protecting herself." Alaric said.

Elena shook her head. "I don't mean when she was in Mystic Falls, Ric. I mean just a few days ago when I asked if she knew Meredith at the street fair. She said no. But she doesn't have to hide from Alison anymore, so why didn't she just tell me the truth?"

"Maybe she thought there were too many people around and someone might hear her." Stefan suggested.

"Not when we got home." Elena said. "She could've come out to the barn and confessed. Why didn't she?"

They exchanged looks. No one spoke. No one had an answer. If Alison was the reason Melissa had become Meredith then there was no reason for her to continue lying about it. Unless Alison hadn't been the reason.

Elena looked at her friends, her family and felt confused and a little betrayed. But mostly she felt a little scared. What had they just stumbled into? What was going on here?


	8. Chapter 8: The Jenna Thing

Chapter 8: The Jenna Thing

"Jenna!" Aria screamed as she broke out of her dream turned nightmare and sat up in bed. "No!"

Caroline and Bonnie were both jolted out of their own dreams by her exclamations and quickly had the overhead lights on. None of their eyes were quite ready for the sudden flood of bright, artificial light, but a dark room was no place for a scared young woman that had just awakened from a nightmare.

Aria was crying as Caroline sat down on the edge of the bed and put her arms around her, guiding her new friend's head to her shoulder. She looked up at Bonnie who was sitting at Aria's feet. "Did she say _Jenna_?"

"I don't think it's the same Jenna." Bonnie said as she got up and crossed to the mini fridge, retrieving a bottle of water for Aria. "Aria? Do want some water? It might help you calm down."

Aria looked at Bonnie through tearful eyes and shook her head. "No. I just want it all to go away. I wish…"

She trailed off and her roommates waited for her to continue. Finally she did.

"I wish I could just forget about everything that happened." She said, her voice choked. "I wish I could just erase everything that happened after the night Ali disappeared. I wish she _had_ died that night. Maybe then she wouldn't be haunting my dreams."

Caroline stroked her back, wanting, for a moment, to do exactly what Aria wished for. But she knew it was a bad idea, so she simply continued to try to calm her down and comfort her.

"Who's Jenna?" she asked as Bonnie sat back down on the bed, still holding the bottle that was beginning to sweat.

Aria had stopped crying by now and happily accepted the tissue Caroline handed her. She wiped at her face and sniffed for a little while before explaining. "Jenna Marshall was a girl we went to school with. We never really knew why, but Alison hated her and her stepbrother Toby. That meant we had to hate them too.

"Jenna and Toby weren't good enough for Ali, but for some reason we were. We weren't allowed to hang out with anyone that wasn't _worthy_ of Alison's friendship, so we teased and tormented them right along with her even thought we usually felt terrible about it afterward. But there was nothing we could do. I think we were all afraid that if we went against Alison she would cut us loose and we would end up being the losers she picked on."

"That's terrible!" Caroline said.

"And we thought Katherine and Rebekah were bad." Bonnie agreed.

"They weren't much better." Caroline argued lightly, not willing to stand up for either of them.

Aria shook her head. "I don't know anything about Katherine or Rebekah, but I promise you there's no way they measured up to Ali. She called her own friend Hefty Hanna. She blackmailed us. She made us feel inferior at all times."

"Why did you stay friends with her?" Bonnie asked gently.

Aria looked at her, her big hazel eyes flashing with something that looked a lot like hate. "Because she made us feel like we were part of something special. She had us all under her spell, and we were all blind to what she really was."

"What happened to Jenna?" Caroline asked, guiding the conversation back to what she suspected had caused whatever horrible dream Aria had had.

"Ali talked us into playing a trick on Toby." Aria explained. "We snuck over to their house and she threw a firecracker in the garage to mess with him. But Jenna was in there and the explosion blinded her."

"Oh my god." Caroline breathed.

Aria laughed bitterly. "We were all so terrified of what would happen to us when the garage caught on fire, but Ali was calm and in control as always. So even though we knew we had done something terrible and should come clean about it we listened to her and let her handle it.

"Jenna was rushed to the hospital and Ali blackmailed Toby into taking the blame for it. After that everyone in Rosewood hated him."

They were all three silent for a while. Bonnie and Caroline processed what Aria had just told them, and Aria felt guilty for the part she played in all the bad things that had happened to the people around her because of Alison.

"Jenna had surgery to get her sight back, but it didn't last very long." Aria explained. "When we found out she could see again I was so relieved, but then she lost her sight again and I felt guilty all over again. She knew who really hurt her, and we were all afraid that she was the one tormenting us for a while. I'm still not really sure exactly what role she played, or whose side she was on."

Bonnie heard the 'but' in Aria's voice and prompted her to continue. "But?"

"But she saved my life and now she's dead because of it." Aria said, feeling a little better now that she had said it to someone that wasn't mixed up in the whole thing with A and Ali. "Ali had me cornered and she was aiming a gun right at my head. I couldn't run. There was nowhere to go and my legs wouldn't work even if there was because I was so damn terrified. She was saying all of these awful things about how Hanna and I should've died when she set my car on fire, and how killing me was going to make her life so much easier. She thought it would be easier to kill everyone else if they were devastated over my death. I shouldn't have been, but I was shocked by what she was saying and the fact that she looked perfectly sane and calm while she was saying it. All of a sudden she pulled the trigger. All I remember was hearing the gun go off and thinking that that was how my life was going to end before I had even graduated high school."

"Jenna died instead, didn't she?" Caroline asked softly.

Aria nodded. "I still don't have any memory of it, but after Ali ran off I remember looking over and seeing Jenna lying on the ground. Apparently she had somehow managed to push me out of the way. The bullet hit her in the chest, and I called 911, but she was gone before the ambulance arrived. So was Ali. The last thing Jenna ever said was that it wasn't our fault."

She was crying again thinking about how Jenna had used her last breath to tell Aria that she didn't blame them for what had happened to her.

"Alison can never hurt you again, Aria." Caroline promised her. "I promise we'll keep you safe."

Aria was grateful to her for the sentiment, but she shook her head as she leaned over and plucked a second tissue from the box. "I know she's locked up, but there's nothing you can do to keep me safe from Ali if she manages to get out. I'm not really sure how any of us made it out alive. And clearly I didn't make it out in one piece because I'm going crazy."

"You're not going crazy." Bonnie assured her. "You just have PTSD, but you'll get through it. We'll help you."

"And we _can_ protect you from Alison if she gets out." Caroline said, knowing what she was about to do might be a huge mistake. "She may be some kind of evil genius, but she's still only human. Evil genius or not, she can't beat and angry, protective vampire."

"Caroline!" Bonnie exclaimed, looking at her friend in stunned surprise. "Have you lost your mind?"

"She needs to know she's safe, Bonnie!" Caroline replied.

Aria simply stared at Caroline for a moment and then burst into hysterical laughter that actually made her roll off the bed and into the floor.

"You can't compel her to forget." Bonnie hissed as Aria laughed. "She's on vervain, remember?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Bonnie, I don't _want_ her to forget! She trusts us, and she's still terrified of Alison even though she locked up in another state. And I don't really blame her. She needs to know that she really is safe with us, and she won't believe that if she thinks we're human. I know I'm taking a huge risk by telling her the truth, but I don't think she's going to do anything that could get us hurt unless we hurt her. And that's not going to happen."

"Of course it's not, but we've only known her for a few days, Caroline." Bonnie argued. "She may trust us, but how do we really know we can trust her?"

Caroline shrugged. "I guess we just have to take a chance."

Bonnie was quiet for a moment while she listened to Aria's laughter die down and finally subside. Finally she sighed and looked at Caroline's pleading expression. "Okay. I guess you're right. She does need to know that she's safe."

Aria was a little freaked out by her own uncontrollable laughter, but she felt so much better once she finally stopped. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. Nothing had changed, but she had needed some kind of release and apparently crying wasn't good enough. Once she had caught her breath she got up and sat back down on her bed, flashing Caroline a huge grin.

"Thanks." She said. "I needed that."

Caroline tried to smile back, but it wasn't very convincing. "Aria, I'm serious. I'm a vampire."

"Vampires aren't real." Aria said with a giggle.

"You have no idea how much I wish that were true." Bonnie said. "Unfortunately it's not. Vampires _are_ real, Aria."

She looked from one to the other, trying to make out any signs that they were messing with her. She didn't see any. "You guys are serious, aren't you?"

Bonnie and Caroline both nodded.

Aria was shocked. How could this possibly be true? "You're vampires? How is that possible?"

"Actually Caroline's the only vampire in the room." Bonnie said. "I'm a witch."

"A witch?" Aria didn't want to believe it, but she had no choice. There was no proof, but she had lived through crazier things. Why not go to college and end up living with a witch and a vampire?

They were more than willing to offer proof even though she didn't ask for it, and she watched in amazement as Bonnie said something in a language she didn't understand and lit a candle on the mantel across the room. She was perfectly aware that it could be a trick candle and they were messing with her, but they didn't strike her as that kind of people. They knew she had been messed with in worse ways. Why would they resort to cheesy magic tricks if they really wanted to scare her? Something inside her told her that this was all real.

"I never thought I would say this, but I believe Bonnie's a witch." She said as the candle burned above the fireplace. She turned to Caroline. "But how are you a vampire? You go outside during the day, you have a reflection in the mirror, and I'm pretty sure you ate garlic the other night at Damon's when my family came over for dinner."

"Don't believe everything you hear about vampires." Caroline said. "Garlic and mirrors are nothing but seasoning and a way to make sure we aren't having a bad hair day. We do burn in the sun, but some of us are lucky enough to know a witch that can make special magic rings to protect us from the sun so we can live an almost perfectly normal life among humans."

Aria examined the ring on Caroline's hand, but it didn't look like anything extremely special. It was a pretty ring, but nothing out of the ordinary really. Then something clicked in her head and she looked up, remembering all the other blue stoned rings she had seen on the people she had met since leaving Rosewood. "You're not the only one, are you?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. Actually most of the people you've met here are supernatural in some way."

"You're all vampires and witches?" Aria asked. "Or are there more supernatural…creatures that everyone thinks are just fairy tales?"

"We don't know about _all_ of them." Bonnie said. "We've never met any mermaids or leprechauns, but there are more than just vampires and witches. Liv and her brother Luke are witches too."

"And Damon, Stefan, Enzo, Alaric, and Ivy are vampires like me." Caroline added. "Well, sort of. Alaric is a special kind of vampire, but you don't need to learn everything tonight. And our friend Elena's a vampire too."

Aria's eyebrows went up in surprise and confusion. It sounded like she had walked into an entire town full of vampires. Two if you considered the fact that Whitmore wasn't actually in Mystic Falls. "What about everyone else?"

"Tyler's a werewolf." Caroline explained. "He managed to activate his curse again, but Bonnie made him a moonlight ring similar to our daylight rings so he doesn't have to turn on every full moon and he doesn't have to be sired to anyone."

"Sired?"

"Something else you don't really need to know about tonight." Bonnie said.

"What else is real?" Aria asked, her curiosity on full drive now.

"Vampires, witches, werewolves, hybrids, doppelgangers, ghosts, Travelers, and hunters are all we've come across." Caroline said. "But Bonnie's right. You don't really need to know all the details tonight. All you need to know is that even if Alison manages to escape, and I doubt she will, you are perfectly safe here with us. And Elena's in Rosewood, so everyone else is safe too."

Bonnie and Caroline got up and Aria pulled the covers back over her body as she looked up at them. "Somehow I don't think _one_ vampire's going to be able to stop Alison DiLaurentis. You don't know her."

"No." Bonnie said as she crawled back under her own covers. "But you don't know the crazy supernatural crap we've had to deal with. Every single one of us has come back from the dead at least once."

"Including Matt." Caroline added. "And he's still a human. Somehow."

"The point is," Bonnie said, drawing Aria's attention back. "It'll take more than Alison DiLaurentis to stop us."

Aria was amazed that she wasn't completely freaked out right now. She had just found out that all of her new friends were supernatural creatures she had never really thought were real. Except Matt. But for some reason she believed it, and she wasn't afraid. She wasn't sure they really could defeat Ali, but she felt like she might be able to get a decent night's sleep for once as Caroline turned out the lights.

It was dark except for the moonlight sifting through the windows and the flame of the candle on the mantel. In the silence of the room she heard Bonnie blow from her bed, and the candle went out.

Aria pulled the covers up and rolled over, thinking that she was safe in a room with a vampire and a witch that had promised to protect her. She was asleep within minuets.


	9. Chapter 9: Believe It Or Not

Chapter 9: Believe It Or Not

"Wake up, sleepy head!"

Aria was already awake when Caroline's pillow bounced off her shoulder. She groaned and rolled over. "What time is it?"

"Six." Caroline chirped.

"A.M.?"

Caroline nodded. "Yep. Bonnie's in the shower now."

"Classes don't start for two more days, Caroline!" Aria whined.

"This has nothing to do with school." Caroline explained. "We're going on a field trip."

Aria sat up and watched her perky blonde roommate open the mini fridge, and somehow caught the bottle of water that was tossed across the room.

"Drink up." Caroline said. "You need to keep the vervain in your system."

"Vervain?"

"We'll explain everything to you when we get there."

"Get where?"

The door opened and Bonnie came out wrapped in a towel. She flashed Aria a smile as she rubbed gently at her short hair with another towel. "You're up! Bathroom's all yours."

Caroline nodded toward the bathroom. "Go on. Take a shower and get dressed. We'll stop for breakfast on the way."

Aria swung her feet to the floor and trudged toward the bathroom. She stopped and turned back once she was inside. "Where are we going?"

"Mystic Falls." Bonnie said. "Nothing fancy. T-shirt and jeans is fine, but I suggest a sweater. It's chilly outside."

Aria closed the door and was halfway through her shower when she realized that the dream she had had last night hadn't been a dream. The one that had started out as her family dinner at the Salvatore house the other night and ended with Jenna dying on the dinning room table had been a dream turned nightmare, but the one where she told Bonnie and Caroline about Jenna and they told her their secrets was real. Caroline was apparently a vampire, and Bonnie had proven she was a witch with that candle trick. Everyone she knew here at Whitmore and in Mystic Falls was a vampire, werewolf, or witch. Except Matt and Jeremy, but Matt was the only one they had said wasn't supernatural. So what was Jeremy?

"Band-aids are in the medicine cabinet." Caroline said when she emerged from the bathroom.

"What? She asked, confused.

"You cut your leg shaving." Caroline said as she opened the fridge once more and took out something that definitely wasn't a bottle of water. "I'm so glad I don't have to hide my supply anymore."

"Supply of what?" Aria asked as she glanced down and saw that the back of her ankle was indeed bleeding. How had she not noticed that?

Caroline held up the object in her hand. "Blood bags."

Aria looked at her. "I'm really kind of freaked out right now. You're not…"

"No." Caroline assured her, smiling softly. "No one is going to eat you. You're safe with us, remember?"

"It's okay to be freaked out." Bonnie added. "You're actually taking it really well compared to some people. Caroline had no idea about any of it when she turned."

"Not true." Caroline argued. "I knew, but Damon compelled me to forget that he was a vampire and was using me to weasel his way in. When Katherine killed me it all came flooding back. Which is why I'm not Damon's biggest fan. Even if I would miss him a little if he died again."

Bonnie shrugged. "I was never his biggest fan either, Care."

"Until you spent over four months trapped with him and that psycho witch in 1994."

Aria was completely lost. "What?"

"We'll explain everything when we get to Mystic Falls." Bonnie promised.

%%%

When they arrived at the Salvatore house Aria was the only one that got out of the car.

"We've got some other things to take care of first, but we'll be back." Bonnie said. She nodded toward the front door, and flashed someone a cheerful smile. "You're in good hands."

Aria looked over her shoulder to see Damon waiting for her, dressed in black again and wearing that lopsided smirk she had already come to realize was pretty much his natural expression.

Bonnie and Caroline assured her that she would be fine and that they would be back later and left her rooted to the driveway.

Damon opened the front door and waved her in, presenting the inside of the house in a Vanna White-like gesture. "Welcome to Professor Salvatore's Supernatural Studies course, your one stop knowledge shop for all things paranormal. I'm Professor Salvatore, and I'll be guiding you through the most fascinating, and very dangerous, history class you'll ever take."

Aria hesitated. She was charmed by his smile, his personality, and his looks, and so far she really liked him, but last night she had learned that he was supposedly a vampire. If she believed that, and something inside her was telling her she should, shouldn't she run? What if this whole thing was just an act? She had fought so hard not to be murdered by her former friend, and she really didn't want her cause of death now to be something as easy, and unbelievable, as being a meal for a town of blood-sucking monsters.

But she didn't see a monster when she looked at any of them. Especially not Caroline. She thought it was extremely fitting that her nickname was Care. And there was something dark and dangerous about both Damon and Enzo, but for some reason she really wasn't scared of either of them. Either there was nothing to be afraid of or her fight or flight reflexes were completely fried, and there was only one way to find out.

So she took a deep breath and stepped inside, following Damon into the living room where he had a fire going. The room was cozy, but they were completely alone.

"Where is everybody?" she asked as she set her purse down and peeled off her jacket.

"Stefan's still in Rosewood, and Enzo took Ivy out to give her another lesson in control." Damon explained and poured himself a drink. "Thirsty?"

"No, thank you." She declined, afraid that her breakdown the other night had been due to mixing champagne with her medication even though she really hadn't drank that much. Doctor Sullivan had made sure to remind her not to drink wile she was taking it, and she was too afraid of what might happen if she did to risk it. Until the other night when she had found herself in a completely new place with all new people, truly enjoying a party for the first time in a long time. "So…Ivy's a new…vampire?"

"No." Damon answered honestly. "She's been one for about a year now, but she unfortunately happens to be a vampire with some…control issues. We're still trying to work out the kinks."

"She seemed fine to me." Aria said, amazed at the conversation she was currently having. Would anyone back home ever believe her if she told them, or would they send her straight to Radley?

Damon sat down in a chair next to the couch she had chosen, not wanting to make her feel crowded or trapped, and set his drink on the table. "Starting isn't her problem. Stopping is. See, good vampires have mastered the art of something we like to call snatch, eat, erase. Some vampires, good or not, have a little…problem with that. Ivy and Stefan, and me and Elena for a short period of time, are what we like to call Rippers. Stefan's reformed and under control now, but Ivy's still working on it. And since we don't have my favorite supernatural sober coach available anymore, my fault, she's stuck with Enzo today. Admittedly not the _best_ teacher, but good enough to hopefully keep people from loosing their heads."

"Literally?" she asked, slightly horrified.

He nodded. "Yep. Rippers don't know how to stop, and they feed until the person's head comes off. In a gruesome, but slightly comical fashion to quote Enzo."

Aria didn't know what to say. She was stunned and confused, and if she was being honest with herself, she was a little scared. But for some reason sitting in a room with a vampire and learning about Ripper vampires and people's heads coming off seemed like a much better choice than going home where her real demons lived.

"What made you come in?" Damon asked. "You could've run. You probably should've run. Why didn't you?"

Aria took a deep breath and looked at him, meeting his gaze head on. "In two and a half to three-ish years I survived being tortured by text message, and with my own secrets, by multiple unknown enemies. Secrets I didn't want, but was forced to keep. I fell in love with my teacher and made it through every obstacle thrown at us, and then discovered that our entire relationship had been planned so that he could literally use me for research for a book. I saw my friends hurt physically and emotionally by there secrets and by mine, and they saw me hurt the same way. I went to so many funerals, two of them for the same person that wasn't even dead, that I'm amazed I can still wear black anything. I was stalked and tormented, first by a girl that I had basically been forced to torment, and then by the girl who I thought was my friend. My boyfriend was shot trying to save us. A friend was shot trying to protect another friend. I _killed _a girl. It was to protect my friends, but she's still dead because of me. I lived through keeping the secret about my dad's affair, my parents splitting up when my stalker told my mom, my mom hating me because I kept it from her, and hating my dad because he asked me to keep it from her. I lived through my dad's relationship with his crazy mistress that tried to kill me. I lived through my mother's engagement to a man we thought was wonderful, but turned out to have a thing for teenage girls. I took his word over my friend's because I wanted my mother to be happy. I lived through the murder of a girl that was the definition of frenemy, and then watched helplessly as my brother fell apart because someone brutally murdered his girlfriend after I had given him hell about dating her. And then they never found the body and we had to bury and empty casket. I've seen dead bodies, I've been locked in boxes, we've lived through fires and having cars literally hurled at us, one of my friends was almost sawed in half; our families and everyone else we knew were dragged into the mess with us even though we tried so hard to keep them out of it. We lived in fear for two and a half years, not knowing who we could really trust and who was working against us, and then _everything_ came out in the open during the trial. I've suffered emotionally, physically, _and_ psychologically, and I think that if I can make it through all of that and only be dealing with PTSD and a little paranoia I can handle hanging out with a vampire. If you're going to kill me I don't guess there's much I can do to stop you, but I promise you I won't be an easy snack."

Damon was stunned by her speech. He had a general knowledge of what she had been through thanks to Google, but the list she had just rattled off and the fear and hurt that was so evident on her face and in her voice shook him to the core. She wasn't even twenty-one yet, but she really had been through her own personal Hell.

"Aria…" he said after a while, trailing off because he wasn't exactly certain how to say it. He reached for her hand and she didn't pull away. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you. _None_ of us are going to hurt you. We'll keep you safe. I know Elena thinks, and you may too, that you've stepped out of one nightmare and into another, but that's not the case. We _can_ protect you, and we will. All you have to do is trust us, and let us help you. I promise you no one is ever going to hurt you again. If they do I will personally rip their heart."

She had fought back the tears while making her impassioned speech, but let them go now. It wasn't a flood, but a few. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "I probably shouldn't, but I do trust you."

Over the next day and a half her world view changed drastically. Damon was with her the entire time, but the others came and went as they were inclined, and together they all pieced together a story that sounded like something that would make a great novel.

She learned all the basics about vampires. That they had heightened senses and could turn off their feelings, that vervain would protect her from compulsion and hopefully from becoming dinner. She learned that they did burn in the sun unless they had the special magic rings that protected them, and she learned that even though they needed blood to survive they could still eat the same food she needed to survive. She also learned that you could kill a vampire by either staking it in the heart with anything wooden, ripping out their heart, or chopping off their heads. Fire would kill them as well, but they were fast enough and strong enough to get out of a burning building if they wanted to. That information alone was enough to keep her occupied for a while, but there was more.

Once all of the general facts were explained the real story began, and she was riveted.

She learned all about Silas, Qetsiyah, and Amara, and how that love triangle had lead to a spell and a cure for immortality, the Other Side where all supernatural creatures went when they died until it self-destructed and its anchor, and two lines of doppelgangers.

Then she learned about the Originals, and how a witch named Esther had turned her children into the very first vampires. She was fascinated by the fact that Esther's affair had been revealed by this when one of her sons had turned into something called a hybrid, which was half vampire and half werewolf, when he had made his first kill as a vampire. The doppelgangers came back into play when she was told how Esther had used the first one's blood not only in the spell that had turned her children into vampires, but also in the one that hid away the werewolf side of her son Klaus.

The fact that all of these things happened between over one and two thousand years ago amazed her. But that wasn't all.

She learned about Katerina Petrova who had become Katherine Pierce in an attempt to escape from Klaus, who wanted to kill her so that he could undo what his mother had done and become a hybrid again, and had eventually ended up here in Mystic Falls in the 1800s.

That led to Damon and Stefan becoming vampires when their own father shot them for trying to help Katherine, which eventually led to both brothers returning to Mystic Falls and discovering Elena, another Amara doppelganger.

Aria sat patiently and listened as she was told about Damon's attempts to free Katherine from a tomb under an old church, and how that had lead to twenty-seven vampires being let loose, and also the death of Bonnie's grandmother.

Then Klaus and his brother Elijah made another appearance in the story along with a moonstone and more werewolves. Here was where Tyler explained that in order to trigger the werewolf curse, a person with the werewolf gene had to kill someone, either by accident or on purpose. He explained how Katherine had concocted a plan in which he would be forced to trigger his curse so that she could turn him over to Klaus to use in his sacrifice to undo his own curse, and hopefully gain her freedom.

Aria was amazed to learn how they had saved Elena's life, by linking her to her father who had died when she had come back to life.

From there the story moved on through some more drama with the Originals and then circled back to the beginning with Silas and the cure. They had all gone on a grand treasure hunt for this cure that had ended with Katherine killing Jeremy and Elena turning off her humanity in order to deal with all the emotions she was unable to handle.

Jeremy had been brought back, but it had cost Bonnie her own life, and eventually they had worked out a deal with Qetsiyah, who had gone by Tessa at the time, to let her take Amara's place as the anchor to the Other Side.

After all of that the drama still wasn't over because the Travelers, a type of witch, had decided to bring back their leader so that they could take over Mystic Falls, and that had led to the death of the last of the Silas doppelgangers, leaving only Stefan and Elena, and eventually the destruction of the Other Side and the death of Bonnie and Damon.

They explained how they had managed to get Bonnie and Damon back and eventually undo the Traveler spell on Mystic Falls that kept all spirit magic, including vampires, out of the town, and now here they were.

In that entire long, crazy story she learned how each of them had become a vampire, and she learned about the Hunters that had been created specifically to kill Silas, of which Jeremy was one. She also learned about Gilbert rings, of which there were two. They belonged to Matt and Jeremy, but Aria was surprised and touched when Bonnie explained that since her ancestor Emily had been the one to make the rings, she had been able to track down the spell and had made a third one, hoping it would help Aria understand exactly how safe she was.

She slipped it on, and even though she didn't ask for proof Enzo was more than happy to provide it by unexpectedly attacking her and draining her of her blood.

When she woke up gasping for air a few hours later she was shocked to find out she had died, and understandably angry at Enzo for killing her.

"I made the choice to trust you!" she shouted at him. "And you _killed_ me?"

"Yes." He replied simply. "That ring will protect you, and you said you believed it, but I could see in you eyes that you weren't certain. Hate me all you want, darling, but you never would have truly trusted that ring unless you knew for a fact that it worked. Now you know."

Aria simply stared at him, understanding what he was saying, but too angry to accept it.

"Enzo's right." Damon told her later when they were up in the bedroom that had already become hers.

She stared at him in amazement. "How can you say that, Damon? He _killed_ me!"

"I didn't say _what_ he did was right." Damon explained. "What he _said_ was right. Would you have really trusted that ring without knowing that it actually worked?"

Aria thought about it for a moment and then admitted that Enzo was right. "No. I don't think I would have. But he still didn't have to kill me!"

Damon smiled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead without realizing what he was doing until he had done it. She pulled back a fraction and then stared at him in surprised for a split second before her surprise melted into a sweet smile.

"You'll get used to Enzo." He promised. "You'll get used to all of it."

"So you're really over one hundred and seventy years old?"

Damon nodded. "Yep. And I don't look a day over twenty-four."

When he left she turned out the lights and wondered why in the world she wasn't more freaked out about everything she had learned in the last couple of days. Maybe because she had just literally gotten over dying with a little unwanted help from Enzo. Maybe because she was developing feelings for Damon.

**I hope the rehash of everything that's happened over five and six seasons of PLL and TVD wasn't dull and boring for those of you that are familiar with the shows. Part of the reason I added it was because the characters don't really know each others' histories, but also because I know some of you are only familiar with one show or possibly neither, so you need some background. Hopefully I'm tying all of that in a way that doesn't make it all seem repetitive for those that already know it. Anyway, thanks for reading! Review if you like :)**


	10. Chapter 10: The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 10: The Truth Comes Out

Spencer felt a tiny pang in her chest when she saw the photo while absentmindedly scrolling through her Facebook feed. It was the first one Aria had uploaded in a very long time, and she was surprised to see such a genuine smile on her friend's face. She was standing outside, at what looked like a college campus, and had her arms wrapped around the waists of two girls she recognized as Elena's friends Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes. The dark haired guy with one arm draped over Bonnie's shoulders and the other around the waist of a girl with wild blonde curls was Tyler Lockwood. The girl with the wild hair and her arms around Tyler's waist, smiling with her head on his shoulder was Liv Parker, and the blonde guy that was standing beside her and sort of hanging on the fringes of the group was her twin brother Luke.

_I think the move to Whitmore was a really good idea. Thank you to my family and Ezra for encouraging me to do it, and supporting me when I randomly decided to get out of Rosewood. I miss all my friends and family, and all the boots and earrings I had to leave behind, but I think this really was the right choice for me. I still have a long way to go, but I'm already doing better thanks to my awesome new friends!_

Aria had tagged several people in the photo as well as tagging Ezra in the caption. Spencer read over the list of names of the people in the picture, and several others that weren't. A couple of them, Alaric and Stefan whom she had met the other day, and Stefan's brother Damon were tagged, but their names didn't link to any page making her assume they weren't on Facebook. Everyone that had been tagged or mentioned in the post had liked it, and there were a few comments. Spencer read through them quickly.

_I'm so glad you're doing better! I love you! _Ezra had written.

_I love you too. _Aria had replied, making Spencer wonder about the lack of exclamation point.

_Awwwww! Thanks roomie! Bonnie and I are SO happy you're here! _Caroline commented.

Aria had liked this.

_ARIA!_ Hanna had gushed. _You're back online! YAY! I didn't know you were moving, but Caleb and I are SO happy you're doing better! I miss you! I love you!_

Aria had responded to this with a smiley face. _Lol aw Han! I miss you, and I love you too! And Caleb._

Mike had commented a photo of him and little Laurel, both smiling at the camera and waving. _Laurel misses you already, Aria. She said she wants kisses._

The photo Aria had sent in reply was of her, Caroline, and Bonnie blowing kisses to her younger siblings, and looked like it had been taken in a classroom. _Kisses, baby girl! I miss you both a ton!_

_ Be careful, Aria._ Caleb had written. _Leaving Rosewood doesn't always work out. Hanna was assaulted yesterday._

_ Oh my god, Caleb!_ Spencer typed quickly, instantly worried about her friend. _Is she okay? What happened?_

Thankfully it wasn't long before a reply came. _Don't worry, Spence. She wasn't really assaulted. I'm just teasing her because her reaction to it was so hilarious! She tripped over her heels and ran into a trash can. A really nice homeless man caught her, and she screamed at the poor guy._

_ NOT TRUE CALEB!_ Hanna scolded. _Spence, I'm fine. That guy was really nice, but he was also really dirty and he scared me because I didn't know he was there. That's why I screamed. I did NOT scream AT him._

_ Lol Han._ Aria commented. _Glad you're okay! Hey, Spence!_

_Hey!_ She typed back. _Glad to hear you're doing so well. Did you know that you basically switched places with my cousin?_

_ Not exactly._ Aria replied. _But yeah. How are you?_

_ Good. School's going well, and it's great having Elena here. I miss you guys though._

_ I miss you too, Spence._ Aria said.

_We miss you too, Spence._ Hanna added from both her and Caleb.

Spencer liked both comments and replied with a smiley face even though she didn't feel like it. She really did miss her friends, and it hurt a little that Aria, Hanna, and Caleb seemed to be doing so much better just because they left Rosewood. She could, but something was keeping her here and she wasn't sure what.

Spencer looked up when she heard a commotion that sounded like someone busting into Melissa's room down the hall.

"Does Spencer know?" Elena's voice demanded.

Spencer's door was open and Elena hadn't bothered to close Melissa's, so Spencer could hear them just fine.

"What?" Melissa asked, sounding as if she were completely dumfounded as to what Elena was referring to.

"Do your parents know?" Elena continued. "Does Jason?"

"Elena, what are you talking about?" Melissa demanded.

Spencer got up and pressed herself against the wall by the door so he could hear better, but wouldn't be spotted so easily if someone came down the hall. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she didn't really have much of a choice since they were yelling.

"You know what I' talking about, _Meredith_."

Meredith? Wasn't that the name of the girl Elena had said looked just like Melissa? Spencer wasn't entirely sure what Elena was implying, but Spencer wondered if maybe she was having the same problems Aria had been recently. She had lost a lot of people in a very short time. Maybe that was finally taking a toll on her and she had snapped.

Melissa was quiet for a long time and then Spencer heard the door quietly shut. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't resist the urge to creep down the hall and press her ear to Melissa's door.

"You _are_ her, aren't you?" Elena asked. "You're Meredith Fell."

"Elena…"

"Admit it!" Elena shouted. "Don't lie to me."

"Elena…" This time Melissa's tone confirmed that Elena was right.

Elena sank down on the corner of the bed and stared at her cousin as silent tears slid down her face. "How could you? How could you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me who you were? You had to have known who Jeremy and I were."

Melissa put down her book and looked at Elena with an apology written plainly on her face. "I did know who you and Jeremy were, and it killed me to lie to you like that. But I had no choice. I _couldn't _tell you, Elena."

"You looked me in the eye at the street fair and lied to me." Elena said bitterly and tearfully. "You looked Ric in the eye the other day, and Stefan, and you lied to them too. Why? If you did it to hide from Alison, I get it, but why didn't you tell us now? She's gone!"

Melissa sighed. "I did do it to hide from Ali, and that's exactly why I never said anything. Wren and Mona were the only ones that knew where I really was, and the more people that knew the more chance of Ali finding me. Elena, I knew things I shouldn't have known, things Ali didn't want me to know, and she was after me just as much as she was Spencer and the girls. She _knew _I was the one that accidentally killed that girl. As long as I stayed out of town and under her radar I was more or less safe, but I had to come back because I couldn't abandon my sister."

"But why didn't you tell me when I got here?" Elena asked, not sure what to call the woman she knew by two names. "You knew everything I'd been through. You knew about the doppelgangers. Why didn't you tell me that you were Meredith instead of letting me sit out there in the barn and wonder if I had just stepped into more vampire drama?"

"Because I didn't know how!" Melissa finally yelled. "I didn't know how, Elena. I never thought you would ever come down here, and when Mom told me you were I knew I had to find a way to tell you the truth. But I was scared! You have actual ghosts in Mystic Falls, but Alison DiLaurentis haunts Rosewood, and as far as I know she's as far from dead as you can get. We all know she was convicted and sent away, locked up in a hospital. But we also know _her_ and what she's capable of. It killed me to lie to you, and Ric, and Stefan. Stefan is my friend, and I _love_ you and Ric. I do know everything you've all been through, and some part of me just couldn't make myself drag you into this when Ali's still alive. She's dangerous, Elena."

"Dangerous?" Elena yelled. "_Ali's_ dangerous? Are you crazy? _Klaus_ is dangerous! _I'm_ dangerous, Melissa! Do you really think that Alison could stand up to a _vampire_? I don't care how dangerous she is! I've killed people too, people like Kol that are a hell of a lot harder to kill than a crazy blonde _human_!"

"You didn't kill Kol."

"No, but I helped." Elena argued. "Ali may be smarter and more clever than I am, but she's not faster. She's not stronger. And she's _not_ going to hurt my family. If she manages to get out of that hospital she's as good as dead. And I'm not the only one that'll be after her, because Aria has already become part of the family in Mystic Falls. She knows everything. Bonnie made her a Gilbert ring to help her feel safe."

Melissa gave her cousin a confused look. "What? I thought the Other Side was gone? There's no where to go when you die. How can the rings still work?"

"Because Bonnie created a new Other Side." Elena explained. "We destroyed wherever she and Damon and Kai were after they got back, and Bonnie worked with Liv and Luke to figure out the spell Tessa used to create the Other Side."

Melissa didn't know Kai, but she had kept tabs on her friends and family in Mystic Falls since returning to Rosewood. She did know _everything_ they had been through, and that included knowing that the Other Side needed an anchor or a gateway to work properly. She also knew that Bonnie had been that anchor for a while.

"Who's the anchor?"

Elena was only slightly surprised that Melissa knew about anchors. "Luke volunteered since he's the one that stopped Liv from doing the spell and killed Damon."

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Elena."

"How did you do it?" Elena asked, ignoring the apology. "How did you become Meredith Fell? How did you learn about vampires? How did you become a doctor?"

"Mona and Wren helped me with everything." Melissa admitted. "They helped me find out about Meredith and what had happened to her and her family, and Mona made it look like the story we came up with was true."

"That you had been living in Colorado and had gone to medical school."

Melissa nodded. "Wren taught me a few basics, but all of that was only after we learned about vampires and the healing powers of their blood. I had already decided to become Meredith, and I went to her one of her cousins and told them I was writing a book about the Fell family. This cousin didn't know anything about vampires or werewolves at the time and happily handed over the journals he had access to. That's how I found out about all of it, and once we knew that vampire blood could heal, we decided that Meredith would be a doctor. Mona forged all the documents I needed, but I'm really not sure how I managed to pull it off. I got _very _lucky, Elena."

Elena registered everything that Melissa said, but suddenly something else occurred to her. "You didn't give me Damon's blood that day because you were my friend or a doctor. You gave it to me because I'm your family."

Melissa nodded. "I couldn't let you die, Elena. I've seen so many _kids_ die here, and I knew how many people would be devastated if you died. And I would be one of them. You're my cousin, my family. I love you so much, even though I didn't really know you until I met you as Meredith. I couldn't loose you. I thought about what it would be like if something happened to Spencer, and…"

Suddenly both of them were crying and Melissa lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Elena, hugging her tight. Elena stiffened at first because she was still mad about being lied to, but she relaxed and returned the hug when she accepted that Melissa had done everything out of fear, confusion, and love.

"I'm so sorry I turned you into a vampire, Elena." Melissa murmured into Elena's hair. "But I couldn't let you die, and there was nothing else I could do to help you."

"You couldn't have known that Rebekah would run us off the bridge that night." Elena said. "It's okay. And being a vampire has actually made me better I think. Just like Caroline. I'm stronger now, physically and emotionally. If I'm mad at anyone for me becoming a vampire it's Stefan. He's the one that brought all of this into my life."

Spencer was still crouched outside of Melissa's door, and she had heard everything. The only problem was that she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, so she went back to her room to do some research on vampires. Her logical, practical, grounded in reality brain simply could not accept the fact that her cousin was a vampire without proof that they actually existed. And nothing that she found online offered her any proof.

But se had heard it all clearly. She was certain she hadn't misunderstood. Vampires weren't real, but Elena _was _a vampire. And Melissa, Wren, and Mona knew all about them. But Wren and Mona were dead. She supposed both her cousin and her sister had snapped and gone crazy, but that didn't seem logical either. If that were the case then how did their stories match up so well?

It all had to be true, but her brain simply could not accept that. Elena was a vampire, but vampires weren't real.

But she didn't doubt what Caleb had told her about Ravenswood and Miranda becoming a ghost. So why was it so hard for her to accept that vampires were real if she could accept that ghosts were real?

The answer was simple. She didn't really believe ghosts were real. Even though she had heard the stories from a trustworthy source and couldn't come up with any other explanation. She simply wasn't the kind of person that believed in that sort of thing.

And she never would be.

**Sorry this one took so long guys! I've been busy lately, so updates probably won't be as quick as usual. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	11. Chapter 11: Someone's Watching Over Me

Chapter 11: Someone's Watching Over Me

It had been a while since Spencer had overheard Elena and Melissa's conversation. Halloween was next week, and Elena had been living in the barn for a little over two months now. She seemed to fit in just fine with the family and Rosewood in general, but Spencer had been keeping a close eye on her ever since that conversation. And on Melissa as well.

The two had grown very close since that conversation, but Spencer hadn't seen one sign of anyone being…inhuman. She had continued her research on vampires, knowing that if she looked hard enough and long enough she would find something, but all she found was lore and fairytales, fiction made up by creative writers and stories that could easily be explained by science and common sense centuries later.

Still, Spencer kept watch over her cousin and sister because she couldn't get what she had heard them talking about out of her head. And because it gave her something to do.

While they had been trying to figure out A and what had happened to Ali her life had been crammed full of plotting and searching, secrets and clues. Once everything had come out in court her life had been a three-ring circus of reporters and internet buzz, but it hadn't lasted very long. People lost interest in the mysteries and murders of Rosewood not long after the trial was over and everything was swept up neatly, leaving Alison's victims to piece their lives back together from the broken shards she had left them.

With Ali, Cece, and the handful of others that had been helping them locked away where they couldn't harm anyone, and Mona and Wren's bodies still missing but undoubtedly dead Spencer had forced herself to focus on school.

Somehow she had managed to graduate high school, and had opted to stay home and go to Hollis instead of a big school where strangers that had seen her in the news might gawk and whisper. She had had enough of that to last a lifetime and no one at Hollis seemed to care who she was or what she had been put through. They had all lived with the news long enough that the four girls at the center of it all were no longer of any novelty. Spencer was glad for that and had tried her best to go back to a normal life.

But with her parents divorced and her dad living in the city, her relationship with Toby on pause, and her friends all drifting away, all she had was school and that was no longer enough for her. Her life seemed empty now, which was why she had been so excited about Elena coming to stay with them. It would give her someone new to interact with, stories she hadn't heard millions of times or lived through herself, and for a while it had seemed like it would go that way. She and Elena gotten along great, and while Elena's stories weren't much happier than her own, they were still new to her ears. They had both been a little lost, and Spencer had thought maybe they could lean on each other and find solace in a new friendship that had no connection to either of their troubled pasts.

Unfortunately that hadn't lasted for very long. After Elena had confronted Melissa about the Meredith Fell stuff they had seemingly picked up where they had left off when Melissa left Mystic Falls behind, and though they always included Spencer in their plans she still felt like they had secrets she couldn't know. She knew it had to do with Mystic Falls and vampires, but there was no way she really believed Elena was one of the mythical, blood-sucking, undead monsters she read about online. It simply wasn't possible. Whatever was going on was clearly none of Spencer's business, but she still wanted to know. It was just her nature.

Then there was Ezra. He and Elena were also growing closer. It had started out as a simple friendship after Spencer had introduced them at the street fair, and she hadn't thought it would go beyond that. Elena was single and confused about her feelings for her ex-boyfriend, and Ezra was technically still with Aria even though she was miles and miles away.

Things had changed when Aria had come back for a brief weekend visit. She had come to see her family, and Jeremy and Bonnie had come with her to visit Elena and Spencer's family. From what she had witnessed and heard it had been a great visit for everyone but Ezra. She had heard from Elena, who had heard from Ezra, that Aria had broken up with him. Spencer was shocked, and she actually hurt for Ezra when she heard from Elena, who had heard from Bonnie, what Aria's reasons for ending the relationship had been.

Not only had she ended it simply because they were so far apart, but she had developed feelings for Damon Salvatore, who happened to be Elena's ex, and felt it was unfair to not only Ezra, but herself and Damon as well. So she had decided to really make a new start and move on to a new boyfriend as well as a new town and group of friends.

It hurt Spencer to think that maybe she had been replaced with Caroline or Bonnie and Aria was now part of Team Caria or Team Baria, leaving Team Sparia broken and forgotten, but she couldn't imagine how Ezra was feeling knowing that not only had he lost Aria, but he had lost her to another man.

But whatever pain he felt seemed to have been eased quickly as his friendship with Elena had blossomed into something more.

Spencer watched from the window as the new couple laughed over something as they made their way across the yard to Ezra's car.

She focused on Elena and studied her to see if there was anything about her that might hint at something different, but the only thing she saw that was different was the outfit she wore that looked a little like something Aria might wear, though it was much tamer. Elena's style had changed yet again since she had arrived in Rosewood, and Spencer wondered if it was simply part of trying to figure out who she wanted to be. She couldn't really see any other reason for it.

"They look happy." Melissa's voice said.

Spencer turned to see her sister standing behind her with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She assumed it was the same tea that was in the cabinet, the same tea she had offered Elena the other day. Elena had refused it and opted for water instead, to which she had added a couple of drops of some liquid that she thought Spencer hadn't seen.

Some sort of drug was Spencer's first thought, but was Elena the kind of girl that used drugs? She didn't want to think so. Blood had been her next thought. Vampires needed blood to survive, even if they weren't real. But the liquid obviously hadn't been blood, and Elena had made a slight face when she had tasted her coffee, as if she didn't really like the taste.

"Is Elena allergic to chamomile?" Spencer asked. She knew it wasn't chamomile tea her sister was drinking because she could taste the difference, but she didn't know why it was being disguised.

"Not that I know of." Melissa said, taking a sip. "But this isn't chamomile."

"Then what is it?"

"Vervain."

Spencer watched her sister walk away without any further explanation and went into the kitchen to check the box in the cabinet. Sure enough the chamomile box that had been there a few days ago had been replaced with a box of vervain tea. Spencer had never heard of vervain tea before. Or vervain in general.

She had a sneaking suspicion that vervain tea had something to do with whatever Elena and Melissa were hiding, and was turning to go up to her room and look it up when something caught her eye out the window. She had definitely seen something, or someone, move, but when she leaned over the sink and scanned the yard she didn't see anything unusual out there. Ezra and Elena had already left and she knew Melissa was upstairs. Her mother was out on a date and her father was home in Philly. She supposed it could have been Jason, but no one rang the bell and there was no sign of anyone in the yard.

An old familiar feeling Spencer had hoped to never experience again crept over her as she ran upstairs to read up on vervain.

%%%

"What was that?" Aria asked as she sat up in bed and twisted around to look out the window.

"What was what?" Damon asked, his arms still around her.

Aria broke free of his embrace, squashing the slight feeling of quilt at having moved on so quickly to Damon after breaking up with Ezra, and pulled his discarded t-shirt over her head before getting out of bed and going to the window of her second floor bedroom. She pulled the curtain back and strained to see as far as she could in all directions. She felt a slight breeze as Damon moved from the bed to stand beside her.

When she turned to look at him he was dressed in the jeans she had helped him out of earlier, and she was once again amazed at the perks that came with being a vampire even though she'd had almost two months to get used to them.

"I don't see anything." He said, looking around to be certain.

She shivered despite the warmth of the room. "Damon, there was someone out there."

"We're on the second floor." He reminded her, wondering for a moment how she had talked him into the guest room that become hers instead of going to his. "There's no way anyone could've been at this window."

She turned and looked up at him. "I know what it feels like when someone's watching me. It's a feeling I'll never forget, and it's creepy as hell. There was someone out there."

Damon took her hand in his and ran his thumb over the protective ring Bonnie had made to help her get over the exact feeling she was speaking off. He smiled softly and used his free hand to brush her mussed hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Even if there was someone there, you don't have anything to worry about."

She glanced down at the ring on her hand and twined her fingers with his, feeling, for some reason, much safer with him than she ever had with Ezra. Probably because he was more capable, physically, of protecting her. If he got shot he would be fine unless it was a wooden bullet to the heart, but he was too fast for that.

"This ring only works if someone supernatural kills me." She said. "It does help and I'm seriously grateful to Bonnie for making it, but the people that would be after me are human. If they kill me-"

"They won't." Damon said, cutting her off. He drew her away from the window, letting the curtain fall back in place, and sat down in one of the chairs, pulling her down in his lap and putting his arms around her. She had gained some weight since she had been here, but her mind was still very much ill at ease. He could tell that she truly trusted him and felt safe with him, and with all the rest of her new friends, including Matt who had admittedly gotten better over the years at defending against and fighting off vampires, werewolves, and the like. He, Jeremy, and Alaric were teaching her, building upon the little self-defense training she already had, and she was getting better and more confident. Her problem wasn't physical. It was psychological. He wanted to compel her fears away, but he knew that wasn't the right answer, and Caroline had threatened to kill him if he even thought about trying it.

Aria snuggled against him, her small frame fitting perfectly in his lap, and put her head on his strong shoulder. Her hand rested on his bare chest, neon orange polish beginning to chip off her nails, and nuzzled her face against his neck. "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"Will you turn me?"

"Nope." He replied simply as if she had asked if he knew what time it was. "I've got strict orders that you are to remain human at all times."

She lifted her head to look at him pleadingly. "I'll be safer. Ali can't hurt me if I'm a vampire. This ring only protects me from the people I know won't hurt me."

"And we'll protect you from Ali." He said, refusing to give in. "But we're not the only supernatural creatures in the world, Aria. There are some vampires out there that don't care about human life. All they see is a food source. This ring will protect you from them. Don't you _ever_ take it off. Promise me."

Aria nodded. "I won't, Damon, but—"

"Ah, ah." He said, shaking a finger at her. "No buts."

Suddenly her mood shifted from loving and a little frightened to annoyed, and she jumped up from his lap, glaring at him with her big hazel eyes. "Matt told me what you did to his sister, Vicki. You _attacked _her, and you turned her because you were _bored_! I asked you to turn me, Damon! I _want_ to be a vampire!"

Damon was on his feet in a second and grabbed her arm, meeting her glare for glare. When he spoke his words were practically a snarl. "You're not Vicki Donovan, Aria! And I'm not the same guy I was when I turned her. I'm not going to let you become a vampire. You're still young, and you've still got a lot of life ahead of you. You deserve to grow old."

Something flashed in her eyes as she jerked her arm free from his firm grasp, and she shouted. "I'm not Elena!"

"I never said you were!" he shouted back.

"Then stop treating me like I'm your second chance with _her_! If you want to be with me, then be with _me_!"

"Like you're completely over Ezra?" he said, sounding almost disgusted. "Give me a break, Aria!"

She was very aware of the fact that an angry vampire could be very dangerous, but she wasn't afraid of him. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but if he did she had her ring to bring her back.

She was quiet for a moment as she took a couple of breaths and tried to calm down some. Finally she spoke. "I never said I was completely over Ezra. I loved him just like you loved Elena, and I may never be completely over him. But I chose to move on instead of holding on to my past, and I have never once treated what I have with you like what I had with him. When I look at you I see you, not Ezra. Who do you see when you look at me? Me or Elena?"

"I see _you_, Aria." He assured her. "But you've got to understand that it's hard for me to treat you completely different when I can easily see so much about you that's just the same as Elena. She wasn't another Katherine, and you're _not_ another Elena."

"I'm sorry if I misjudged you." She apologized. "I just feel like you see her when you look at me sometimes."

"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way." Damon said, taking a step closer. "I do still love Elena. Just like you still love Ezra. But Elena's gone, and you're here. You're a lot like her, but you're not her. And I don't want you to be. I want you to be able to trust that."

Aria heard his words, but she didn't reply to them. Something moved outside the window again and she ran back across the room, cutting their conversation short. She threw the curtains open wide and peered frantically out into the sunlight that was quickly fading to twilight. Again there was nothing, and no one, outside the window except the grounds the house sat on and whatever woodland animals were stirring.

Her phone rang, alerting her to a text. She hesitated before reading it, fully expecting to see the words _I'm back, bitches! You can't get rid of me that easily. –A_, but it was from Spencer. Her message wasn't much better.

_I swear I just saw someone in my yard. Please tell me it's not starting again._

_ I wish I could_, she typed back. _Damon keeps insisting that I'm safe, but I'm absolutely certain there was someone outside my window watching us. I seriously thought your text was from A._

Spencer's reply was slow, but it finally came. _I know Ali's locked up, but I keep waiting to find out that she's escaped. You and Hanna were so smart to get out of town._

_ I don't think I can take another round with her._

_ Me either_, Spencer replied. _Let me know if you hear anything?_

_ Of course_, Aria promised. _You let me know too. I'll check in with Em and Han. Just to make sure._

Another pause. _Good idea. _

_ We're overreacting, Spence_, Aria typed, trying to reassure herself as much as Spencer. _Ali's locked up. We're safe._

She stopped herself before she added anything about vampires. She wanted Spencer to know that Elena was very capable of keeping her safe, but she had promised not to say anything to anyone about the things she had learned since moving to Virginia. Not that Spencer would ever buy it.

"Aria?"

She turned and managed to smile at Damon. "I'm fine."

The smile didn't reach her eyes. He knew she was lying. He hadn't seen whatever she had seen outside, but he had seen the way she had nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone had gone off. She was safe, but she wasn't fine.

Damon moved across the room and wrapped her in a comforting hug as another text came in. It was from Spencer, Elena's cousin, and he hoped she didn't mind that he read it as well.

_You're right. I know you're right. But why can't I believe it?_

_ Elena_, he thought, willing her to hear him._ Tell her the truth. Let your cousin know she's safe with you there._

Aria leaned against him, and he hugged her a little tighter as she typed out a response to her friend.

_I don't believe it either._

Damon heard something outside the window that Aria couldn't hear and turned his head in time to see a dark figure jump from the ledge. He remained where he was because he didn't want to alarm her, but she had been right. There was someone outside watching them. His desire to protect her grew stronger, and he casually let go of her and walked across the room to pick up his own phone and send a warning text to Elena.

_Someone's watching Aria. You might want to keep an eye on your family._

%%%

"Elena?" Ezra asked from across the table. "Are you okay?"

She flashed him a smile. "I'm fine, but I'm starting to get a headache. Do you mind if we cut dinner short?"

"Of course not." He said, trying to catch their waiter's attention.

Something was off. He had been told enough lies to know what they looked like. Elena may very well be getting a headache, but she had been perfectly fine until someone had texted her, and he knew all too well how dangerous texts could be. He paid the check and drove her home, catching a glimpse of what he thought was a person lurking at the edge of the woods. When he blinked whatever it was was gone, and he told himself that everything was fine.

"Lock you door." He told Elena, just in case, after saying goodnight.

She smiled and touched his arm. "Ezra, the threat is gone. I'll be fine."

"Humor me." He said with a smile. "It'll make me feel better knowing no one can get in."

She smiled back. "I'll lock the door."

She kissed his cheek and he waited to be certain she had locked the door. She did, and watched him as he walked back to his car just to be certain that he made it safely. Once he was gone she unlocked the door and went to investigate. She had seen the figure at the edge of the woods as well, and with Damon's text alerting her to the fact that he had seen someone watching Aria, she wanted to be certain that her family was safe.

Inside the main house Spencer watched from her bedroom window as Elena crept toward the woods. She had seen the same thing the other two had seen, and she quickly dashed outside and followed Elena into the woods. Whatever this vampire nonsense was she didn't believe it, and she couldn't let Elena go roaming around the woods by her self at night. It might be okay to do that in Mystic Falls, but Spencer wasn't convinced that it was safe to do it in Rosewood. Especially after the conversation she had just had with Aria.

There was absolutely no news of any kind about Alison, but that didn't mean anything. Someone was lurking around her house at night, dressed in black, and in her mind that screamed A. Just because Ali and her cohorts were locked up didn't mean she hadn't managed to gather a new bunch of creepers to do her dirty work for her. She was scared of the possibilities, but she wasn't scared enough to sit around and let her cousin get slaughtered in the woods. She had defeated A twice already.

_Third time's a charm_, she thought as she crept through the woods, keeping a safe distance behind Elena, but staying close enough that she could run to help if she needed to.

Suddenly there was a commotion ahead of her and she recognized the sound of Elena's voice as she grunted when someone plowed into her.

"Elena!" she shouted, grabbing the nearest stick to use as a weapon and running to save her cousin.

When she reached the sight of the scuffle what she saw caused her to freeze and drop the stick.

The moonlight filtered through the sparse leaves overhead enough for her to make out two female figures, one smaller than the other, grappling in the dark. The smaller, hooded figure, wearing a frighteningly familiar uniform of black, surged forward and pinned Elena against a tree.

Spencer blinked once and they were on the ground, Elena on top with a stick jammed through the other girl's throat. The moonlight illuminated her face and glinted off her fangs as she hissed viciously at the girl pinned beneath her.

Spencer was stunned to see that her cousin apparently _was_ a vampire, because there was no mistaking those deadly fangs for anything else, but she was shocked by something else. So much so that her entire body went numb although she remained standing, frozen in place as she stared at the scene in front of her.

The hood had fallen back, revealing the face of the girl with the stick rammed through her neck. She was also flashing fangs, but the fangs weren't what shocked Spencer. It was the face.

"Mona." She breathed, barely above a whisper.

The struggle stopped.

Elena looked up at Spencer, but didn't let her guard down or release her grip on the stranger struggling to get free. "You know her?"

Mona reached up and broke the stick in half, stabbing the part she had yanked out of Elena's hands into her side. Elena cried out and Mona managed to knock her off. Spencer watched as Mona jumped to her feet, removed the remaining half of the stick and disappeared.

Elena pulled the stick out of her side and tossed it away, pushing herself to her feet as her wound healed. She walked the few feet to stop in front of Spencer, and demand. "Do you know her?"

"I…I think so, but it can't be possible." Spencer said, staring at where Mona had been standing for the shortest amount of time and sounding like she was in a trance.

"Who was she?" Elena demanded. "Why was she lurking outside your house?"

Spencer continued to stare. "Mona Vanderwaal. She's dead. They never found her body."

Elena recognized the name. Mona was the girl that had originally tormented Spencer and her friends as A. She grabbed Spencer's arm and began pulling her back toward the house.

"They never found her body because there wasn't one to find." She said. "She's a vampire now, and I bet I know who turned her."

Spencer followed Elena, stumbling back toward the house, but continued to stare over her shoulder. She was completely shocked at what she had just seen, and although she had heard and answered Elena's questions, the explanation as to why Mona's body had never been found didn't register. She was too shocked, and too confused. Mona was dead.

But Mona wasn't dead.


	12. Chapter 12: Give Me a Break

Chapter 12: Give Me a Break

"How can Mona still be alive?" Spencer asked as she was dragged into the kitchen. "We saw her house after Cece attacked her. There was way too much blood. There's no way she survived."

Elena stopped and spun around, wanting badly to flash her fangs and make Spencer see what she was. She forced herself to stay in control though because she didn't see any need to further terrify or traumatize her cousin, who still looked like she was completely stunned by what she had just witnessed in the woods.

Instead of loosing her temper or her control Elena took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She placed both of her hands firmly on Spencer's shoulders and looked directly into the pair of chocolate brown eyes that were slightly higher than her own. "Spencer," she said calmly and evenly. "Listen to me. Are you listening?"

"Yes." Spencer nodded.

"Mona _did_ die." Elena said.

"But—"

Elena shook her head. "No. Listen to me."

In a fit of temper Spencer batted Elena's hands away and stepped back, glaring impatiently at the young woman standing in front of her, confusion still clouding her expression. "I _am_ listening, Elena! But what you're saying doesn't make any sense. Mona's dead. She has to be. Whoever attacked you in the woods couldn't have been her. They never found her body, but she's dead. Mona is dead."

"Yes." Elena agreed. "Mona _is_ dead. You saw what happened just now in the woods. You saw what I am, what _she_ is."

"I don't know what I saw." Spencer argued. "You're my cousin, and Mona's dead. I saw what happened in the woods, but it had to have been a hallucination. It's impossible."

Elena was only slightly alarmed when Spencer suddenly began crying and sank to the floor, sitting cross-legged just inside the still open door. She crouched down and reached out to lay a comforting hand on Spencer's shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

Spencer wouldn't remember later how she got there, but Elena's hand on her shoulder prompted her to seek further comfort from her cousin and she moved forward. Elena was forced to take up a cross-legged position as well as her younger cousin sought some sort of solace and practically crawled into her lap, clearly afraid of something. Spencer clung to the older girl, and Elena automatically wrapped her arms around her as she buried her face against her shoulder and continued to cry.

Between tears and hiccups Spencer managed to utter the words, "Please don't let them send me back to Radley."

Elena held her tight with one arm and stroked her hair with the other hand. "Why would they send you back to Radley?"

"I can't go back there." Spencer whimpered. "Don't make me."  
>"Spencer, you're not going anywhere." Elena assured her. "I promise I won't let anyone send you back to Radley. Why would they?"<p>

Spencer shifted, drawing away from Elena and sitting back. "I'm seeing things. I'm hallucinating. I saw Mona in the woods, and you both had fangs. You shoved a stick through her neck, and then she stabbed you in the side with it. It can't be real. You're okay. Mona's dead. Vampires _aren't_ real."

Elena twisted around and lifted her arm so that Spencer could see the holes in her two shirts where the stick had pierced her flesh and the blood stains that had come as a result of the wound. "Look."

Spencer stared at the spot on Elena's side. She saw the holes in the fabric and the blood, but she couldn't see a wound. "But…how? I don't understand."

"You _did_ see Mona." Elena said. "Vampires_ are_ real."

"But…" Spencer's mind tossed around, looking for some logical excuse to explain what she had seen. "But you eat normal food, and you walk around in the sun. And vampires aren't real."

Elena held up her hand, drawing Spencer's attention to her daylight ring. "I have a ring that allows me to walk in the sun, and I have a mini fridge full of blood bags hidden in the barn. Spencer, I drowned a few years ago. But I had vampire blood in my system, and now I'm a vampire too. The same thing happened to Mona."

Spencer shifted her gaze back to Elena's face and blinked. "You're really a vampire?"

Elena nodded. "I don't want to scare you, but I can prove it if you want."

Suddenly the haze floating over Spencer's brain dissipated and she no longer felt like she was in a dream. Nothing made any more sense to her than it had a moment ago, but it all felt real now. She felt like her normal self again.

Elena was waiting for an answer, so Spencer nodded. "I hear what you're saying, but I just can't believe it. Everything I know says vampires aren't real. I can't just accept that they are. Or that you're one of them. Or that Mona's one of them. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Elena quickly explained the process of becoming a vampire and rattled off how she had become one, conveniently leaving out the part about Melissa healing her with Damon's blood so Spencer wouldn't have to process too much shocking information all at once. Then, when Spencer had assured her that she was ready to see the proof and had actually offered her own arm, Elena simply stared at her.

"Just don't kill me."

Elena smiled. "Are you sure?"

"Clearly you can control it or you would've already killed us all." Spencer said, still holding out her arm with the sleeve of her pajama shirt pushed up to her elbow. "If you really are a vampire go ahead and prove it. Drink my blood."

Elena wasn't sure this was really the best way to prove it, but Spencer seemed determined so she pushed her long hair over her shoulders to keep it out of the way and took hold of Spencer's arm. She moved closer and positioned herself so that she had better access to the veins and arteries running through Spencer's wrist and made sure her cousin could see her face as it changed.

Even though a little voice inside her head had been telling her this was all real, Spencer had still been certain it wasn't. It couldn't be. But when she saw the whites of Elena's eyes turn red and the network of what looked like veins appear under each eye she began to doubt her certainty. That certainty slipped further away as her eyes took in the two sharp, glistening fangs as Elena opened her mouth wide, and it dissolved altogether when she felt those fangs pierce the tender flesh of her wrist. She was left with no choice but to believe that her cousin was a vampire as she felt the slightly terrifying sensation of having the red liquid she needed to stay alive sucked from her body.

Elena only drank a little of Spencer's blood, but it was enough to make Spencer fear for her life when she realized that she was truly being fed on by a vampire. She felt the tiny whispers of fear begin to take hold a split second before Elena dislodged her fangs and sat up, two little rivulets of red running down her chin.

"Oh my god." Spencer whispered, wide-eyed, as she watched Elena wipe the blood from her face and lick it off her fingers. _Her_ blood. "It is true."

Elena nodded. "I didn't want you to find out."

"Why not?" Spencer asked. "It's not like I can't keep a secret."

"I know you can keep a secret, but you shouldn't have to keep mine." Elena said. "And it's not always safe for people like me and those that know about us or are close to us. Bad things happen when you get pulled into the supernatural world, Spencer, and I thought it would be safer for you if you didn't know."

"But Melissa knows."  
>"How do you know Melissa knows?"<p>

"I overheard your conversation the other day when you confronted her about being that Meredith girl you know." Spencer admitted. "Actually, I only overheard part of it. After Melissa shut the door I eavesdropped. I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist. And I didn't believe until now that any of what I heard was true."

"Why didn't you come to me about it?" Elena asked.

Spencer glanced down at her wrist that was still bleeding from the two puncture wounds. "Part of me was afraid it was true, but mostly I didn't come to you, or Melissa, because I know what can happen when you know things people don't want you to know."

The room fell silent and the two cousins simply watched each other's faces for a long moment.

"Spencer?" Veronica's voice asked, making both girls jump and look up. "Elena? Is everything okay? Why are you sitting in the floor?

_Elena's a vampire!_ Elena imagined Spencer shouting. _She's a monster and we have to kill her!_

She turned her gaze back to Spencer, silently begging her to keep her secret even though she knew it wasn't fair.

Spencer covered the wound on her wrist and looked up at her mother. She didn't falter even the tiniest bit when she spoke. "We're okay. I tripped outside and cut my wrist on a sharp rock. Elena was helping me doctor it."

Veronica's eyes drifted to Spencer's wrist covered by her other hand. "How bad is it? Do I need to take you to the hospital for stitches?"

"It's just a little cut." Elena assured her. "We've got everything under control. She just got a little light headed."

"I haven't eaten much today."

Veronica looked faintly suspicious of the story, but she didn't press further. It seemed a little odd, but what did Spencer have to lie about now? The years of secrets, lies, and danger were behind them. "Okay. Let me know if you girls need any help."

"We've got it, Mom." Spencer said. "I'm fine. Really."

"Okay." Veronica said again and walked away.

"Do you think she heard?" Spencer whispered.

Elena shook her head. "No. I can fix that if you want. My blood will heal it."

"We just told my mom that I cut myself on a rock." Spencer said. "We might as well bandage it. Besides, I don't want to be a vampire. You said having vampire blood in your system will turn you into one, right?"

"Only if you die."

Spencer shot her a look that dared her to assure she wouldn't. "Mona's lurking around out there, and she's more deadly now than she was when she was A. Even without a car. She may have been helping us before she died, but I still don't trust her."

Elena nodded and helped Spencer to her feet. She doctored the wound with the first aid kit they kept in one of the drawers and told Spencer to go to bed.

"I want to know more." Spencer argued.

Elena shook her head. "You don't need to know more tonight. There's too much to explain. Get some sleep and I'll tell you everything tomorrow. Okay?"

Spencer nodded and turned for the stairs, pausing at the bottom with her hand on the rail. "I won't tell anyone." She said quietly, looking back at Elena.

Elena nodded. "Thank you. Goodnight, Spencer."

"Goodnight, Elena." Spencer ascended the stairs and disappeared into the upper level of the house.

Elena stood in the kitchen and contemplated hunting down Mona to find out why she had been watching Spencer's house, but she was pretty sure the other vampire was long gone by now. Instead she followed Spencer upstairs and slipped into Melissa's room.

"Elena, what's wrong?" Melissa asked immediately when she saw the troubled look on the young vampire's face.

Elena's eyes darkened slightly. "How many people have you turned?"

Melissa put her book down and sat up further in her bed, a look of confusion settling over her face. "What?"

Elena turned to show Melissa her side.

Melissa's eyes widened. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"Damon texted me and told me that someone was watching Aria in Mystic Falls." Elena explained. "I had Ezra bring me home early, and I saw someone lurking at the edge of the woods so I went to investigate after he left. I wanted to make sure everyone was safe, and I found another vampire. She attacked me, and ran off."

"And you think this vampire is somehow connected to me?" Melissa inquired.

Elena nodded. "Ezra and Spencer both saw what I saw. Ezra made me lock the door, and Spencer followed me into the woods to make sure I wasn't about to walk into an A trap. She saw the attack, and she told me that the other vampire was Mona Vanderwaal. You said Mona and Wren were the only people in Rosewood, aside from you, that knew about vampires. They're both assumed dead, but no one's found any sign of either of their bodies, and Mona turned up in the woods tonight. Did you turn her?"

"No." Melissa said firmly, her face revealing no hint of a lie. "I did not turn Mona. Or Wren, if he turns up as a vampire too. I don't know who turned Mona, but as far as I know you're the only person that became a vampire because of me."

Elena studied her closely, but saw no sign that she wasn't telling the truth. "If it wasn't you then how is Mona a vampire?"

"She knew everything I knew about vampires except who all in Mystic Falls was one." Melissa said. "Knowing Mona she probably managed to track one down and convinced them to turn her."

It made sense so Elena accepted the answer, but there was still something she wasn't okay with. "Do you have any idea why she was here? Is she playing A again? Was she trying to hurt you or Spencer?"

Melissa looked a little worried as she pondered the questions she couldn't answer. "I don't know. I know she wanted to hurt the girls for teasing her and picking on her when they were friends with Alison, but she never wanted to _kill_ them. It was Alison that she really wanted to hurt, and after Cece and Ali took over as A she only wanted to help the girls put the pieces together. But she couldn't just come out and join their team. None of us could. We were just as afraid of Ali as they were. The only difference was that we had a definite idea of who we were afraid of. We were too scared to just come out and say it, so we tried to push the girls in the right direction so they could figure everything out and maybe we could all work together in some way to bring Ali down. But they were too scared and confused to put all the pieces together quickly with Alison interfering every time we tried to help them. Mona was never crazy. My best guess is that she was watching us to make sure we're okay, but you'll have to ask her if you want to know for sure."

Elena nodded and said goodnight. She would track Mona down and get all the answers she was looking for, but not tonight. What she wanted right now was to go back to the barn and have a blood bag or two, take a quick shower, and go to sleep. She was pissed at Mona for ruining a brand new top, one that she really liked, one that Ezra had really liked, and with the way she had been feeling lately she didn't trust herself not to kill Mona for wasting her money before she got her answers.

She wasn't sure if it still had anything to do with her uncertainty about her feelings for Damon since she was happy in her budding relationship with Ezra, but her emotions were all over the place lately. It would be smarter, and safer, to sleep off the events of tonight and start her investigation tomorrow when she could look at things with fresh eyes after she filled Spencer in on everything she needed to know about the supernatural world and gleaned some more information about Mona that might help her find the girl everyone thought was dead.

Why did there always have to be drama, she wondered as she walked back to the barn. Damon and Stefan had lived fairly easy lives as vampires until they had returned to Mystic Falls. Then everything had exploded with doppelgangers and Originals. Why couldn't _she_ just have one year of a normal existence where she wasn't playing supernatural sleuth or trying to outsmart some evil witch? Couldn't she just enjoy a simple visit with her family without worrying about someone possibly stalking them or trying to harm them in some way? Ever since the night her parents had died, the first time she had ever come in to contact with the Salvatore brothers, her life had been ridiculously complicated and full of secrets, lies, danger, and death, and she had thought it had all settled down. Apparently she was wrong.

The girls that had been dubbed by a reporter as the Pretty Little Liars of Rosewood at the beginning of Alison's trial when everything was coming out in the open had now gotten entangled with the vampires of Mystic Falls, and when you put one trouble-attracting group of people with another what else could you expect but more trouble?

She let out a heavy sigh as she shut the barn door behind her and almost screamed when she turned around and saw someone lounging on her couch as if they had every right to be there. But when she realized who it was she simply groaned.

"What a warm welcome." the unfortunately familiar woman said with an all too familiar smirk on her unforgettable face. "Is that any way to treat family?"

Elena simply opened the door and gestured for her unwanted guest to leave. "Get out, Katherine."

Katherine, who seemed to be as easy to get rid of as a bad penny, sat up and feigned a pout. "And here I thought you would at least ask how I managed to come back. I'm sure Bonnie told you that the Other Side wouldn't let me in. Aren't you even the least bit curious?"

"No." Elena said. "To be perfectly honest, nothing you do surprises me anymore. I don't care how you came back. Leave."

"You're not even going to ask why I'm here?"

"I don't care why you're here. I want you out."

Katherine ignored her. "As much as it pains me to ask for it, I need your help, Elena. And I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

Elena closed the door. "You never do."

Katherine watched her doppelganger walk across the apartment and retrieve a blood bag from the hidden mini fridge. "You're really sucking all the fun out of this for me. No pun intended. Will you help me or not?"

Elena turned to face the woman that shared her face. "Will you leave me alone if I do? Forever?"

"I don't like you any more than you like me, Elena." Katherine snarked. "I wouldn't be here if there was anyone else that could help me. But you're my only option, so here I am."

"Answer the question, Katherine." Elena demanded impatiently.

Katherine gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. _Yes_, Elena. I will leave you alone forever if you help me with this one teeny tiny thing."

"What is it?" Elena asked, purposefully not agreeing to help until she knew what she was getting into.

"I want to be a vampire again." Katherine said simply.

"That's it? You said I was the only one that could help you."

"You are, but it's a long story." Katherine assured her. "I know you're not going to agree to help me until you hear all of it, but since I'm still a human I'm exhausted. I _promise_ I will explain everything first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll leave whether you help me or not, if you let me crash here tonight. I'll sleep on the bathroom floor if you want me too. Just don't make me find a hotel. Please?"

The simple fact that she was mentally tired combined with the unusual fact that Katherine had said please made Elena roll her eyes and sigh. "Fine. You can stay here for the night. But only one night, and you'd better hold up your end of the deal. And don't let anyone see you."

Katherine crossed her heart and stuck out her hand. "You have my word."

Elena rolled her eyes, ignoring Katherine's outstretched hand. "Maybe if you were Elijah, or even Klaus, that would mean something to me." She took her blood bag into the bathroom with her and paused before closing the door. "I will kill you if I catch you doing anything suspicious or I find out you're lying to me in _any_ way. Goodnight, Katherine."

"Night." Katherine singsonged in response as Elena shut the bathroom door.

_Now what?_ Was the only thing running through Elena's mind as she stood under the hot spray of the shower, trying and failing to enjoy her dinner.

She needed to figure out what Mona was up to, and now her evil twin was back from the underworld. What else was going to complicate her life in Rosewood? She had come here to try and simplify things, but the drama only seemed to be picking up once more.

Draining the last of the blood from the bag she listened carefully to Katherine in the next room as she bathed and washed her hair, and then somehow managed to fall asleep with her evil, look-alike ancestor tucked in on the couch.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.


	13. Chapter 13: Safe

Chapter 13: Safe

Aria walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her bare feet making soft slapping sounds as she walked across the hardwood floor. It was dark outside, late, and she paused to stare across the room at the windows, trying to see if anyone was watching her.

She knew there was no one out there. Once again she was on the second story of the Salvatore house, and there was no way anyone could get there. Not easily, and if they did they couldn't get down easily either. She would see them.

Her gaze glanced down at the ring on her hand. It would be easy for a vampire to perch on the narrow ledge outside the window and watch her.

Damon had told her that he and Stefan had signed the house over to Elena a long time ago in order to keep unwanted vampires out and keep her safe. When she had died it had automatically gone to Jeremy. Then he had died, and although he was very much alive now, thanks to Bonnie, the house was in limbo.

Any vampire could walk in and attack her. But why would they? If they were smart they knew other vampires were inside, and as far as she knew she had never done anything to make one made at her. To her knowledge no vampire or any other supernatural species had any reason to be mad at her. Unless Elena had decided she wanted Damon back and was jealous. But Elena had Ezra now.

Aria jumped and screamed when someone grabbed her from behind and threw her on the big, four poster bed in the large, sparsely decorated room that was so much different than any she had ever lived in. As soon as she hit the soft, cool sheets she reached up and hit Damon on the shoulder.

"You jerk!" she shouted, ending on a small laugh. "You scared me half to death!"

Damon tugged playfully at the towel she had wrapped around her freshly washed body, but wasn't discouraged when she held tight to it and didn't let him win. Instead he propped himself upon his elbows, lightly pressing his body on top of hers, buried his fingers in her damp hair and his face in the curve where her neck met her shoulder. He nipped at her soft, fair skin playfully and then began kissing her.

Aria happily tilted her head to give him better access and didn't complain when he wrapped his arms around her and rolled over, placing her on top. She simply slid off of him and snuggled up close to his side; resting her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. She could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath, and she could feel his heart beat through the thin fabric of his t-shirt even though it seemed illogical. How did your heart beat and your lungs continue to fill with air if you were technically dead? She posed this question to him as her fingers kneaded his chest gently. Though he shouldn't be, he was warm.

"One of death's many mysteries, I guess." was his answer.

She was watching her fingers play on his chest, but she could hear the faint smile in his voice and it made her smile as well. She nuzzled his shoulder. "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, turning his head to place a kiss on her forehead, and then resting his cheek against the same spot. No. She wasn't Elena, but she was something just as special.

Aria closed her eyes. "For making me feel safe.

"Ezra didn't make you feel safe?"

She shifted her head to look up at him. "Ezra did, and would've done, everything he could to make me feel safe and protect me, and I love that about him. He got shot trying to protect all of us, and I was so afraid he was going to die. But you I don't have to worry about. I know it's not exactly fair to compare the two of you in this way since you're a vampire and he's not, but you really _can_ protect me, and that makes me feel safe. Even if my brain doesn't want me to think I am, I know I'm safe with you. And with Stefan, and Caroline, and everyone else. I never really felt that in Rosewood. Not like this."

Damon wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. He didn't feel the need to reassure her that she was safe. She believed it now on some level. "Ezra sounds like a good guy."

She nodded. "He is. He's done some _really_ stupid things, but he is a good guy, and I feel better knowing that he's safe with Elena now like I am with you. So is Spencer."

"She'll take care of them." Damon assured her. "If there's one thing Elena's good at it's taking care of the people she cares about."

Her phone rang, breaking the sweet moment, and Aria untangled herself from Damon's arms to get up and answer it. It was Hanna. "Hey Han."

"Hey." Caleb's warm voice replied. "It's me."

"Why are you calling me from Hanna's phone?" Aria asked.

"Because I saw your text before she did." Caleb said. "She's got some big job interview tomorrow so she went to bed early. Not that it's all that early."

"Caleb." Aria said, urging him to quite rambling. "Spencer thought she saw someone watching her earlier, and I'm certain there was _something_ outside my window too. I haven't heard back from Emily yet, but have your or Hanna noticed anything…A-like in New York?"

Caleb didn't answer right away. Aria tried not to revel too much in the feeling of Damon's hand trailing lightly up and down her arm as he listened to both ends of the conversation. On the other end of the phone line she could hear noises that sounded like Caleb was moving to somewhere where Hanna wouldn't hear what he had to say and that worried her. Her brow furrowed and she absentmindedly chewed on her bottom lip while she waited.

"Sorry." Caleb said. "I didn't want to wake Hanna."

_He doesn't want her to know whatever he's about to tell me._

"It may be nothing, but I have had that feeling that someone's been watching us lately." He admitted. "I haven't actually _seen_ anyone, and I haven't mentioned it to Hanna. She doesn't like to admit it, but she still has nightmares."

"So do I." Aria said. "Damn it. I was hoping Spencer and I were just going crazy together. Great."

"You don't think it's Alison, do you?" Caleb asked, sounding like he already knew her answer because he thought the same thing.

Aria desperately wanted to believe she was being hunted by a vampire, but she knew that wasn't true. She looked down at Damon and sighed. "I don't know, but that's what it feels like."

"I'll talk to Hanna about it after her interview." Caleb promised. "She needs to know what's going on, but I don't want her to loose the job because she's too freaked out to answer the questions."

Aria nodded even though he couldn't see it. "Okay. I'll call Spencer tomorrow and I'll let you know when, and if, I hear back from Emily."

"Okay." Caleb agreed. "I don't like this, Aria. Something doesn't feel right."

"I know. I don't like it either."

"If you want, Enzo and I can go up to New York and keep an eye on your friends." Damon offered when she hung up. "You'll be safe at Whitmore with Caroline and Ric."

She let out a heavy sigh and looked down at him. "Can Enzo go by himself? I know I'm safe with Caroline and Alaric at school, but I like knowing that you're not so far away either."

Damon nodded and gave her a quick kiss before leaving the room to hunt down Enzo. As luck would have it he found his friend getting drunk in the living room with Matt and Jeremy.

"Bar's closed." He announced as he took the glass out of Jeremy's hand while he was in mid sip. "I've got a job for the three of you, and I need you sober."

"Yes sir." Enzo slurred. "What is it that's you wants us to do?"

Damon rolled his eyes, and kicked Matt's feet off the table. "Ever been to New York, Donovan?"

"No." Matt asked, clearly nowhere near as drunk as Enzo. "Why?"

_Good. He's still the responsible one._ "Because you're going."

Jeremy sat up, looking like he was somewhere between his two drinking buddies on the breathalyzer. "Can we go to Vegas instead?"

"No." Damon spat at him. "There's no one in Vegas that's possibly being stalked by a crazy murderess."

"Is Katherine back?" Jeremy asked, drawing an amused snort from Matt.

Damon ignored him. "Someone's been watching Aria and Spencer Hastings. Caroline, Ric, and I have Aria covered, and I'm sure Elena has Rosewood under control, but, Little Gilbert, you're going to go make sure your sister doesn't need a hand. And you're going to stay whether she needs it or not. Understand?"

Jeremy nodded, all seriousness now.

Enzo was drunk, but Matt was just as serious as Jeremy. "What about us?"

"You two are going to New York to keep an eye on Hanna and Caleb. Try not to get killed, Donovan. Whoever's watching them is more than likely human, so use those handy fighting skills you've mastered and don't rely on your ring. Okay?"

"Look, I know you don't like me, Damon," Matt said. "I don't like you either, but you don't have to treat me like I'm an idiot. I get that I'm just a human, but I think I've dealt with enough supernatural crap over the last few years, because of you and Stefan, to be able to handle it. And if this person's a human it'll be that much easier. I'll just let Enzo knock their head off, and we'll be done with it."

"Right, mate." Enzo piped up. "Quick snap. Lights out. Easy."

"I'm sorry if I've underestimated your vampire hunting abilities, _Matt_." Damon said. "You can leave now or in the morning, but see if you can dry our resident bar fly out a little before you go. He won't be any help if he can't see straight."

Matt and Jeremy managed to drag Enzo to his feet as Damon walked out of the room and then sped back to his bedroom where Aria had already fallen asleep in his bed.

He tucked her in and gently brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. She looked so much better now than she had a couple of months ago.

He walked across the room to draw the curtains and placed a soft kiss on her cheek when he climbed into bed beside her. He settled in with his arm protectively draped over her naturally small body and pressed another kiss to her forehead.

"Don't worry." He whispered. "Everyone's safe. You've got to get back to school in the morning, so you just sleep and know that no one's going to hurt you tonight. "

Aria shifted in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, letting him know that she wasn't going to have any problem sleeping easy tonight. She trusted him to keep her safe.


	14. Chapter 14: Three's a Crowd

Chapter 14: Three's a Crowd

"Elena!"

Andrea paused as someone caught hold of her wrist and turned to see a rather handsome man smiling at her. She knew exactly who Elena was, though she hadn't met her, and returned the happy smile.

"Hello." She said cheerfully, wondering exactly what relation this man was to Elena. Husband? Boyfriend? Friend? Whatever he was Andrea wouldn't mind having him to herself, but she couldn't let anyone know she wasn't Elena Gilbert. Not yet anyway.

The problem with that was that the only thing she really knew about her doppelganger was that she was a vampire and the only one that could help her stay alive. As she smiled at the man, wondering what his name was, she began to think it would've been better if she had been able to convince Katherine that it would have been easier for them to arrive together. But she had let her ancestor talk her in to arriving the next day to give her time to convince the most recent, and apparently last, Amara doppelganger to help solve their pesky, life threatening problem. Andrea was a lot like Katherine, but Katherine was definitely the more dominate of the pair. Andrea had discovered that a long time ago during her first life, and it clearly hadn't changed. Unfortunately she herself seemed to have lost some of her edge in this third life. She was determined to get it back, hopefully with Elena's help, but right now she had to put her energy into making this unknown, but very handsome man believe she was who he thought she was.

The first thought that crossed her mind as she tried to figure out how to do that wasn't about Elena's personality, but about her style. Was her outfit anything like what Elena would wear?

The dark purple crushed velvet dress and dark gray cardigan didn't really strike her as something someone name Elena Gilbert would wear. Based on the vague description Katherine had given her, Andrea doubted the younger doppelganger would wear the black lace tights with the black knee socks over them, or the high heeled booties that vaguely resembled a pair Andrea had once owned back when she had worked in the saloon. The black butterfly earrings, dripping stands of black beads, were also reminiscent of something she would have worn the last time she had been free, but they probably weren't something Elena would choose. And what about the little cream colored hat with the black bow that Katherine said looked like something from the 1920s? Andrea loved it, but would Elena choose it to finish off a complicated, pinned up hairstyle straight out of the 1800s? No. She probably wouldn't. Her outfit was going to give her away before she even said two words.

But the man, whose hand had moved from her wrist to hold her hand, didn't seem confused or surprised when his gaze swept over her clothing. His smile actually looked a little…wistful. What did that mean? Was Elena Gilbert more like Andrea Montgomery, or Maria Stanton, than she had been led to believe?

It didn't surprise her that Katherine would lie or conveniently leave something out, but they had been close once, for a short time, and it hurt a little to think that the woman she had actually aspired to be like had purposefully mislead her.

"I thought you said you were going to focus on your book today." The man holding her hand said, phrasing the words more as a question than a statement. The way he was holding her hand and the look in his eyes made her think there was definitely something more than friendship between him and Elena.

Andrea gave him another sweet smile, hoping it was at least vaguely close to Elena's, and shrugged. "I needed a little fresh air. I'm actually on my way home right now." Did Elena live in the direction she had been going?

She had arrived in Rosewood earlier than she had expected, and she was waiting for Katherine to call her on the cell phone she still wasn't entirely confident in using to let her know it was okay to make her way to the Hastings house where Elena was currently staying. She had the address, but she didn't understand the GPS program on her phone and she didn't know the layout of the town. When Katherine called she would have to ask her for directions so she didn't make any of Elena's knew neighbors think she couldn't remember how to find her way home.

"Ezra!"

Andrea looked up as a pretty woman with long dark hair and golden skin darted out of the building named The Rear Window Brew. She assumed it was a coffee shop and thought that was a very strange name. What did rear windows have to do with steaming hot beverages?

The man holding her hand turned, blessedly providing Andrea with a name. She still wasn't certain on his relationship with Elena, but at least she knew his name.

"You left your wallet inside." The woman explained, handing it over. She smiled at Andrea, clearly another friend of Elena's. "Hey Elena."

"Hello." Andrea replied. Was that too formal? Katherine had laughed at her and told her that people said _hey_ more often than not nowadays, but Andrea had never been a fan of the word. It seemed too short and rude to her ears, and she preferred the more appropriate sound of _hello_. She was a lady after all, or at least had been at one point in time. She was technically a fallen lady now, but she still remembered her training.

The woman gave her a slightly strange look, but didn't say anything. Andrea wondered how close she was to Elena.

"I better get back to work."

"Thanks Emily." Ezra called as Emily went back inside. He turned back to Andrea, still holding her hand. "I know you said Spencer's borrowing your car today until Stefan can get that part he needed to fix hers. Do you want a ride home? It's an awful long way to walk in heels."

Andrea nodded slightly. "That would be wonderful."

He led the way toward his car, which was apparently parked in the opposite direction, and she remembered to buckle her seatbelt, something she would never forget to do because cars terrified her. Runaway carriages had been bad enough. She didn't want to imagine the damage a speeding hunk of metal could do if the driver lost control.

She had only just met Ezra, but she put her faith in him to get her safely to where ever it was Elena was living, and somehow managed to send a text to Katherine, whose number was one of only three programmed into her cell phone.

_Who is Ezra? He is driving me to Elena's right now. I think he thinks I am her. Don't let him see you when we arrive._

Katherine's response came almost immediately as Andrea was attempting to take in the sights of Rosewood as they passed by the window. _Elena's boyfriend. She lives in the barn out back. We'll be hiding in the bathroom. Don't let him in._

_ She lives in a barn? _Andrea typed back, confused. Katherine had said that Elena was staying with her family. Didn't they like her enough to allow her to stay in the house?

Katherine didn't reply.

It didn't take too long for Ezra to drive from town out to Elena's house, but Andrea had to agree with him. She wouldn't have wanted to make that trek in four inch heels.

The house looked like a very large, dark farmhouse, but it didn't seem to be on a farm. From what she could see it was a lovely house, but she couldn't see herself living there.

Ezra parked the car in the driveway and walked her around to the barn that didn't look like any barn she had ever seen. It looked more like a small house, and she paused at the door, her hand on the knob, to say goodbye to Ezra.

"Thank you for driving me home." She said. "I'd invite you in, but I really should get back to my book." Writing or reading? It seemed silly to devote an entire day to reading a book. A few hours, an entire afternoon maybe, but not an entire day.

Ezra smiled. "Trust me. I get it. I'm a writer too, remember?"

Andrea smiled as if she was laughing at herself. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"I'll call you tonight, and I'll see you this weekend?" he said, clearly making sure that they still had plans.

She nodded. "Yes. Of course. Thanks again for bringing me home."

He assured her it wasn't a problem and gave her a quick kiss before walking back to his car. She noticed that he waited until she was safely inside before he drove away.

_What a nice man_, she thought as she turned and surveyed Elena's living quarters. To her surprise the inside didn't look anything like a barn either. No horses, stall, or hay. Like the outside, it looked like a small house. _How charming._

A door opened, and where she was expecting two people, four people emerged. She knew Katherine and easily figured out who was Elena, but the third woman and the young man were complete strangers in every way. The woman looked slightly stunned, and the young man looked at her as if he were thinking something along the lines of _here we go again._ Elena wore a similar expression, and Andrea couldn't help but assume that this was not the first time they had been in a room full of doppelgangers. She only hoped they had learned about them in a less confusing way than she had when she had literally run into Katherine on Peachtree Street as she had been attempting to take her two year old son to a play date at a friend's house a few doors down. It had been quite a shock to look up from Henry's dirt smeared face to apologize and find her own face staring back at her without the aid of a mirror.

"You must be Andrea." Elena said dryly, sounding as if she was completely over the doppelganger stuff.

Andrea smiled at her. "Hello, Elena."

Katherine moved across the room and greeted her with a hug. "Welcome to Rosewood, Drea."

Andrea ignored the greeting, but returned the hug. Even though they had only spent a short amount of time together over the last century Katherine Pierce was still the closest thing to a sister that Andrea had. Unless you counted her brothers' wives, none of whom she had been particularly fond of, or her husband's sister, whose shy, mousy nature she had detested from the very second she had met her. The girl was simply annoying. They all were. But Katherine was much more like herself, and that had been a wonderful discovery for Andrea.

"Has she agreed to help us, Kat?" Andrea asked, looking and sounding hopeful. "I don't think I can take one more day of being…" she paused, not sure of whether the other two in the room knew anything about vampires. "the way we are."

Katherine gave a slight pout. "We haven't actually gotten to that part yet."

Andrea placed her hands on her hips and shot a pointed look across the room at Elena. "Why not? I thought that's why you had come, Kat. You told me that the two of you didn't get along, and I can't imagine that you've simply been sitting here all morning catching up. _You_ don't have that much to share."

Katherine rolled her eyes and sighed. "Calm down, Drea. Other things that are more important to Elena got in the way, and I haven't had a chance to fill her in on what's going on just yet. She's too busy filling her cousin in on two thousand years of history to give a damn about our problem."

"You could've left last night when I tried to throw you out." Elena reminded her. She turned to Andrea. "Andrea, this is my brother Jeremy, who's actually my cousin, and my cousin Spencer Hastings. Jere, Spencer, this is Andrea Stanton, yet another doppelganger."

"It's nice to meet you, but that's not my name." Andrea said.

"Then what _is_ your name?" Jeremy asked. "Because Katherine said it was Andrea Stanton."

"No, Little Gilbert." Katherine argued. "I said Andrea _Stanford_. Not Stanton."

Andrea sighed and made herself comfortable on the sofa, keeping her spine erect and her shoulders straight. "I was born Andrea Marie Montgomery. My married name is Stanford, and after I left Atlanta I changed my name to Maria Stanton so my family wouldn't be able to find me as easily."

"You mean so Klaus wouldn't be able to find you as easily." Elena corrected.

Andrea nodded. "Yes. Him too."

"What's your name _now_?" Jeremy asked.

"Andrea Montgomery." She replied. "Only my closest friends are allowed to call me Drea. You'll have to earn that."

"Montgomery?" Spencer asked.

Andrea nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"My best friend's last name is Montgomery."

"There are a lot of Montgomerys in the world, Spencer." Katherine said haughtily. "Live as long as I have, and you find out that there's a lot of everyone in the world. Do you know how many Katherines and Kates and Katies I've come across? If I hadn't been running from Klaus I would've changed my name back to Katerina just to be a little different. But of course I couldn't risk him finding me."

"So you simply Anglicized your real name." Elena said. "Katherine Pierce isn't that far away from Katerina Petrova. You really thought Klaus wouldn't figure that out? I bet he loved finding out you thought he was that stupid."

"If I wasn't a human right now you would be dead." Katherine said through clenched teeth.

"Go ahead and try." Elena challenged.

Andrea sighed and slumped back against the cushions, lady or not. "Can we please get on with the history lesson so we can get to our current dilemma? And can we please do it without anyone dying?"

"Evil doppelganger, good doppelganger, crazy doppelganger, and now we've got a peacemaker?" Jeremy asked, sounding surprised.

Katherine smirked. "She's way more like me than you're giving her credit for, Little Gilbert. Even if she is terrified of a cell phone."

"Broderick had me locked up in that house for nearly a century!" Andrea complained. "I'm sorry if I'm a little…old fashioned."

Katherine snorted. "Please. Old fashioned? Drea, you didn't even know what a phone _was_. And your boyfriend did a crappy job of bringing up to speed."

"I told you Harrison is _not_ my boyfriend." Andrea retorted, growing irritated. "He _was_ my lover. My other lover. I can't believe he expected me to sit in that house and pine for him and dream about the day he would rescue me."

"Wow." Jeremy said.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"They really are alike." He explained. "Was either one of those guys a Silas doppelganger, by chance? And was the other one his brother?"

"I'm so confused!" Spencer whined.

Katherine and Elena both shot her a look. Elena's was meant to comfort; Katherine's was meant to silence. Only one worked.

"No." Andrea said, answering Jeremy's first question. "I've never met a Silas doppelganger as far as I know. If I had I think I would've remembered him. And Brod and Harrison were _half_ brothers."

"Gotta love the doppelganger love triangles." Jeremy said sarcastically as he made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"Stop talking." Katherine commanded casually.

Jeremy leaned forward and met her gaze. "Are you gonna stop me? You're a five hundred year old human. I'm a twenty year old vampire hunter. I wouldn't bet on those odds if I were you, Katherine."

That received another roll of brown eyes.

The door opened and Andrea almost expected to see her own face again. The woman that appeared looked as if she could be related, but she wasn't anyone's double unless she was a twin.

"Mom's gone." Melissa said as she pulled the door shut behind her. "Was that Ezra I saw leaving?"

Elena nodded. "He was dropping off Andrea." She gestured to the recently revealed nineteenth century doppelganger that would have eventually found and fallen in love with Stefan had it not been for Katherine getting to him first combined with whatever had happened to her to keep Andrea locked away for so long.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Melissa said as she took in the sight of a room full of Elenas. She moved to sit on the couch putting herself between Spencer and Katherine's chair. Andrea was on the other side of her sister and she leaned forward to get another look at the girl. "I bet she'd get along with Aria."

Spencer turned her head as well, still freaked out over seeing more than one girl with the same face. She had met Katherine earlier this morning when she had sneaked back through the woods after having left the house in Elena's car and ditching her classes. Yes, her education was highly important to her, but she hadn't missed one single day of school since she had started college and this seemed like it was worth playing hooky for.

So far she had learned all about Silas and Amara and how the doppelganger lines had been started, along with how vampires had been created and how someone was turned into one, so she understood how there were two other women in the room that looked like exact carbon copies of Elena even though she was biologically an only child, but it was still going to take some time to get used to it.

The only visible differences between Elena, Katherine, and Andrea were the differences in their outfits, hairstyles, and the way they wore their makeup. So far she was already picking up on slight differences in the tones of their voices and their demeanors as well. Elena was definitely the one that was closest to the Girl Next Door type, and Spencer had already discerned that things between her and Katherine, who was apparently over five hundred years old though she currently didn't look any older than Elena, were not friendly, but they seemed to have some sort of twisted respect for each other that she suspected was the root of the type of sisterly bickering she had witnessed all morning that reminded her of how she and Melissa had once been. She could also tell that Elena wasn't so much freaked out about discovering another doppelganger as she was annoyed and apparently over the whole thing.

Katherine was already reminding her of Alison, but she seemed to simply be a bitch without the added complication of a mental defect, which may not be the politically correct term but was exactly how Spencer viewed Alison. Having a learning or developmental disability, such as her ADHD, was completely different than lacking the ability to love anyone but yourself and gleaning enjoyment from torturing others.

She had already noted that Katherine seemed to put her needs and concerns first, but had the ability to care about other people if she wanted to. She was impatient and demanding which had caused several arguments between her and Elena that had ended in literal death threats that hadn't been carried out yet for reasons Spencer couldn't quite figure out, but she was willing to help Andrea because their problem was the same. They both wanted to go back to being vampires, but for some reason Elena was the only one that could turn them. There seemed to be some sort of friendship between the two older doppelgangers, but Spencer sensed that each was only helping the other mainly to help herself. That was much more like Mona than Alison.

Then there was Andrea, who seemed just as confident as Katherine, but also seemed a little lost and out of her element. Spencer wondered how old she was, and noted the fact that, even though she had slouched a little while ago, her perfect posture was back. Either she was a proper lady or she was trying to make everyone think she was. Spencer suspected she was like Scarlett O'Hara, trying and wanting desperately to be a great lady, but unable to do so due to her passionate and selfish nature.

"I'm still kind of freaked out about all of this supernatural stuff, so can the three of you please stop arguing long enough for _Elena_ to finish explaining things to me?" Spencer requested, almost demanding because she herself was growing impatient and annoyed on top of being confused and feeling completely lost. This was all completely new to her, and she had just had somewhere around one thousand years of supernatural history summarized for her between sporadic arguments that slowed down the entire process.

"I think it's only fair that _I_ take over the explanations." Katherine said, using a tone that could only be described as bitchy, a tone that Spencer had already figured out was her natural vocal inflection. "Elena explained everything pertaining to Amara and Tatia just fine, but I actually _lived _the next part of the story. You should know the truth."

"Oh, so _Elijah_ lied to me when he explained everything?" Elena snarked. "I don't even think Elijah knows _how_ to lie."

"He knew all along what Klaus had planned for me." Katherine replied. "He introduced me to Klaus because he knew they needed my _human _doppelganger blood to undo the curse. He may have fallen in love with me, but he was perfectly aware of what he was bringing me into and had no problem keeping it from me."

"He was trying to help his brother." Elena argued, defending a man she really didn't know all that well, but respected just the same. "He couldn't have possibly known he was actually going to fall in love with you."

"I look just like Tatia."

"So do I." Elena shot back. "If that's the only reason he fell for you then why didn't he fall for me too?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Give me a break, Elena. He may not have fallen in love with you, but why do you think he helped find a way to keep you alive? He cared about you just like he cared about me in the beginning. He probably would've fallen for you too if Damon and Stefan hadn't already claimed you as theirs. Did you really think he only helped you, and agreed to protect everyone you love, just because he's honorable? He may not have admitted it to anyone, including himself, but somewhere in that oh so handsome head of his he knew his hopelessly romantic heart was hoping just the tiniest bit that if he proved himself to you he might have a chance of winning your affections as well. You can't possibly be _that_ stupid."

Elena clenched her jaw and pushed air out through her nose in an audible sign of annoyance, glaring at Katherine. "Just get on with the story, Katherine."

"Or you'll kill me?" Katherine challenged. "If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it by now. Face it, Elena. You just don't have it in you. Like Jeremy said earlier, you're the _good_ doppelganger."

Apparently that was the last straw, because Elena was across the room before Spencer even realized she had moved and plunged her hand into Katherine's chest.

"No!" Andrea shouted, jumping up to defend Katherine, but not knowing how to without getting her killed.

"Elena!" Melissa shouted, getting up and calmly grabbing hold of Elena's arm. "Stop."

Elena realized as Melissa's calm voice penetrated her rage that Katherine had just forced her hand. Now she had no choice but to let her die or heal her. With a sigh she decided there was no sense in killing Katherine again. She would just find a way to come back.

With her hand still inside Katherine's human body she bit into her wrist and pressed it to Katherine's lips. Katherine managed to grab hold and drank greedily. When Elena felt the wound begin to heal she yanked her hand free and Katherine bled out faster than she could heal.

Spencer stared in horror as she realized exactly what had just happened. "Why did you let her die?"

"It's what she wanted." Elena replied as she stared at Katherine's lifeless body, taking some amount of perverse joy at finally getting to see her dead even though she knew it probably wouldn't last. "At least she'll be quiet for a couple of hours."

"What if it doesn't work?" Andrea demanded.

"Then I suggest you enjoy the time you have left." Elena replied as she walked into the bathroom to wash Katherine's blood off.

A long, silent moment stretched out as they all stared at Katherine's corpse.

Finally Jeremy broke the silence. "She just sired herself."

"What?" Melissa asked, turning and giving him a confused look.

"Katherine turned Damon, and Damon's blood turned Elena." Jeremy explained. "Now Elena's blood will turn Katherine."

"Exactly." Andrea said. "I don't understand exactly why, but apparently when a doppelganger is resurrected only the blood of another doppelganger can turn them into a vampire. We brought Katherine back because she's the one that turned me the first time, and I didn't know she had been cured when she died. I knew I could probably trust her to help me." She turned and flashed a smirk at Elena. "And she said that she was certain you would help us. Whether you wanted to or not."

Elena walked over and stared directly into Andrea's eyes. "Katherine forced my hand. You're not going to do the same. If it works with her she can turn you. I'm done with doppelgangers. My life has been a three-ring circus of doppelgangers for the last few years. You can stay until we find out if she's going to wake up or not. Push me too far before Katherine wakes up, _if_ Katherine wakes up, and I won't make threats. I _will_ kill you."

A smile that Elena had thought only Katherine could manage spread across Andrea's face. "I'm just fine with that, Elena, but I'd like to add one more stipulation to our deal."

"What?"

"I was only sixteen when I stole Kat's blood and turned myself to avoid any possibility of Klaus finding out about me and using me to undo his curse." Andrea said. "I only lived freely as Maria Stanton for a couple of years before Broderick caught me with Harrison and killed him, unknowingly turning him into a vampire as well. See, I knew Brod knew about us so I slipped Harrison my blood every night until Brod shot him."

_Like Katherine did with Damon and Stefan_, Elena thought as Andrea continued.

"Broderick held me prisoner in the basement of his house for decades. He died eventually, and I, along with the house, was passed down through his family with instructions that I was only allowed enough blood each day to keep me on the brink of desiccation."

_Like Augustine did with Damon and Enzo. Like we had to do with Damon and I when we had the Ripper virus._

"When the Travelers brought Markos back Broderick hitched a ride as well." Andrea paused for a moment to let everything sink in. "He's a Traveler too, and when they put the anti-magic spell on Mystic Falls he came and got me from that house in Nevada and kept me sedated with vervain all the way across the country until he could drag me across the border. Do you have any idea what it's like to die from slitting your own throat?"

"I'm sure it feels something like having your blood drained out of your body to make hybrids." Elena shot back.

"Why didn't you just hang yourself like Katherine did?" Jeremy asked.

"I didn't have any rope." Andrea replied. "But I did have a kitchen full of knives. So I went down and brought one back up to my bedroom. I cut my throat and let myself bleed out in the comfort of my own bed. When I woke up the next morning my maid had just come in to find me dead and the poor girl was scared to death when I attacked her. She actually had a heart attack while I was feeding. I never liked her anyway. She was such an annoying, whinny little brat."

Elena was growing impatient. "Are you going to explain your terms any time soon?"

Andrea waited a beat. "I don't want to die. I haven't had a chance to really enjoy life. If your blood doesn't turn Katherine I want you to help me find a way to become a vampire again."

"Or what?" Elena demanded. "You can't kill me."

"No, but I think I did a pretty good job of convincing your boyfriend I was you." Andrea said cryptically. "I don't think he suspected a thing. I could easily ruin that for you. Or I could just kill him. Or your brother. Or one of your cousins."

"You'll die trying." Elena assured her.

"Help me turn and I'll leave you alone." Andrea tempted. "Just like Katherine promised. I don't really have a reason to hang around you once I get what I want. And I _will _get what I want, Elena."

"Just shut up and let me finish my story." Elena said, not feeling one bit threatened by her human doppelganger that was only being kept alive and young by a witch's anti-aging spell.

"Fine." Andrea said, dropping back onto the couch and automatically loosing the perfect posture she had maintained the entire time. "Go ahead. I promise I won't interrupt."

Elena ignored Andrea and continued bringing Spencer up to speed, managing to keep and eye on both Andrea and Katherine to keep them from hurting anyone.

_My life is never going to be easy, is it? _

It never was for doppelgangers.


	15. Chapter 15: Death of the Maiden

Chapter 15: Death of the Maiden

"Where _are _you?" Spencer asked. "It looks like a classroom."

Aria shifted in her seat and adjusted the screen on her laptop so that she could see Spencer better. "That's because it is."

"Why are you in a classroom?"

"Because I live in a room with two other girls." Aria stated simply. "Bonnie and Caroline are awesome, but sometimes I need a little privacy when I'm doing my homework or writing or whatever."

"So you break into a random classroom?" Spencer snorted lightly. "Doesn't Whitmore have a library?"

Aria chuckled and smiled at her friend, glad that they were finally reconnecting. "It's not a random classroom. It's the Occult Studies classroom, and I didn't break in. I have a key. It's Alaric's room. And yes, Whitmore _does_ have a library, but do you know how many people go to the library to be alone?"

"If Whitmore's anything like Hollis, half the student body and most of the faculty." Spencer replied.

Aria nodded. "Exactly. The only other person that's ever in Alaric's classroom after hours is Alaric, but he usually grades papers in his office or at his apartment."

"So you're there all alone?"

"Yep." Aria confirmed.

"Doesn't it freak you out to be alone?"

"A little." Aria admitted. "But I'm trying to get over that. I'm safe now."

Spencer knew Aria well enough to know that the look on her face and the almost imperceptible crack in her voice meant she was still trying to convince herself of that. "What about what you saw outside your window last night?"

"That was in Mystic Falls."

"Ezra was watching us from Ravenswood." Spencer reminded her.

Aria's cheerful expression faded. "Thanks for bringing that up again, Spence."

"Oh my god. Aria, I'm sorry." Spencer apologized. "I'm still working on that whole think before you speak thing."

Aria flashed a small assuring smile. "No, it's okay. Knowing what he did still hurts, but we got over that hurdle. We moved on. Speaking of which, how are he and Elena doing?"

"Why?" Spencer asked, a teasing tone edging into her voice. "Jealous?"

"Clearly you haven't met Damon Salvatore." Aria said with a laugh in her voice, only half joking. "No. I'm not jealous. I'm just curious. Does he know about…everything?"

"You mean does he know that his ex-girlfriend left him for a vampire and that his new girlfriend is also a vampire?" Spencer asked. "Does he know the girl he thought was Elena today was really her resurrected doppelganger from the 1800s? Does he know witches and werewolves are real? Does he know Mona is still alive? No. But they seem to be doing just fine."

"Wait. What did you just say?" Aria demanded.

"They seem to be doing just fine." Spencer repeated. "I thought you weren't jealous."

Aria shook her head. "I'm not. What did you say before that?"

"Mona's still alive." Spencer said. "You already knew that."

"No I didn't." Aria argued. "I heard about the doppelgangers, and Melissa being Meredith, and that you know about everything, but no one told me that Mona's alive. What the hell?"

"Actually, she's not technically alive." Spencer corrected. "She's the vampire that attacked Elena in the woods last night and led to me finding out about vampires."

"Mona's a _vampire_?"

Spencer nodded. "We don't know who turned her, but Melissa said she didn't have anything to do with it. And we can't find her, but she's who was watching me yesterday. I'm sure of it."

Aria was silent for a long time. "So…is she doing it again? Is she trying to become A again?"

"Melissa thinks she's trying to watch over us and make sure we're safe."

"Then who was outside my window last night?" Aria asked. "Even as a vampire Mona couldn't have gotten from Rosewood to here and back again so fast, right?"

Spencer shrugged. "I'm still new to all of this, and to be honest it all really freaks me out. My brain's having a hard time accepting it. But…"

"But what, Spence?" Aria prompted. "What else wasn't I told?"

Spencer sighed. "We think Mona might have turned Wren too. He went missing and everyone assumed he was dead, but they never found a body. Same as Mona. And now she's stalking around outside my house with super powers. We know they were working together before they were killed. Why not after?"

"So you think Wren's been watching me?" Aria asked, feeling, for some reason, better knowing it was likely someone she already knew, someone that hadn't been trying to kill her in the past. "Why did no one tell me about this?"

"You'll have to ask your new friends that question." Spencer said.

_I told you so._ Ali's voice said for the first time since the night of William Forbes' birthday party. _They lied to you, Aria. They don't really care about you. No one can keep you safe._

"Spence?" Aria said shakily. "I, um, I have to go."

"Aria, are you okay?" Spencer asked as Aria reached for the mouse pad on her computer. "What's wrong? What happened? Aria!"

Aria disconnected the call and logged out of Skype. She turned off the computer, gathered her things, and headed for the door. It opened as she reached for the handle and she screamed, expecting Alison to charge in and stab a knife in her heart. Her ring wouldn't protect her.

"Aria!" Alaric yelled as he grabbed hold of her flailing arms and pushed her back into the room, kicking the door closed with his foot. "Aria, it's me! It's Ric!"

_He's a __**vampire**__, Aria. How can you trust him?_ Ali's voice taunted. _I bet he's just lulling you into a false sense of security so he can kill you easier. You'd never expect a friend to try to kill you, would you? Oops. Too late. _

Suddenly Alison was the one holding her, and Aria shook her head violently, trying desperately to erase the image. Just as suddenly Alaric was holding her again, trying to calm her down, but the voice was still in her head, laughing and taunting her, repeating over and over that she was going to die. Aria looked around the room for Ali because her voice sounded so clear and real.

And there she was. Sitting behind Alaric's desk with that awful grin that haunted her nightmares. Aria wrenched free of Alaric's grip and charged the desk, attempting to wrap her hands around Alison's throat and strangle her. But as soon as she reached out to kill her enemy Alison disappeared and Aria fell to the floor.

Alaric walked over and helped her into a sitting position. He wanted to help her as she pressed her hands hard over her ears, trying to squeeze the laughing voice out of her head, but he had no idea what to do to make whatever she was seeing and hearing go away. He couldn't compel her because she was on vervain, and his blood wouldn't cure a mental illness. There was nothing he could do, but sit in the floor and hold her until whatever was attacking her left.

"No! No, no, no!" she screamed as she removed her hands from her ears and clung to Alaric. "Make it stop! Please, make it stop!"

Suddenly she was gasping for air.

"Aria, what wrong?"

"I can't breathe." She managed to choke out between gasps.

It was always difficult for her to breathe when she had a panic attack, but this wasn't a panic attack. She really could not physically breathe. The image of Alison was crouching over her now, wrapping her hands around her throat, and squeezing. Aria clawed at the non-existent hands around her throat, breaking her necklace in the process, the jade pendant falling to the floor with a clatter.

Her eyes were wide with fear, and Alaric was scared too. He didn't know what was happening or how to stop it. It broke his heart to know she was in pain and terrified and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

Then it stopped.

Everything stopped. She stopped gasping for air, she stopped struggling against whatever ghost was attacking her, she stopped crying. Her head turned quickly to the side as if someone had snapped her neck, and her body went limp. Her lungs were no longer drawing in or pushing out air, her heart was no longer pumping blood through her body. She was dead.

Witches.

It had to be witches. There was no other explanation.

The ring Bonnie had made her, which was slightly different than the Gilbert rings making it a Montgomery ring, would bring her back from the Other Side in a few hours, but right now she was dead. All he could do was take her lifeless body back to the dorm room and wait with Bonnie and Caroline until she woke up, once more gasping for air.

He had come back to get a folder he had accidentally left in the room, but forgot about it as he gathered Aria's things and lifted her into his arms. One arm hung loosely in the air, and her head tipped back on her neck at an odd angle. He had a feeling the only thing holding her head on right now was skin and muscle tissue. Whoever had telepathically murdered her had completely severed her spinal chord, and either didn't know she had a magic ring, or simply wanted to torture her and had found a really effective way to do it.

%%%

Caroline and Bonnie both jumped and screamed when Alaric busted through the door at vamp speed and laid Aria on her bed.

"Oh my god!" Caroline exclaimed as Bonnie jumped up and shut the door before any of their neighbors could wander by and peek inside. "What the hell happened?"

Alaric sat down on the foot of the bed and pulled out his phone while Caroline began removing Aria's olive green sued booties. "I'm pretty sure it was a witch."

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked, turning and leaning against the closed door as Caroline bent to set Aria's shoes in the floor by her bed and then moved to take the large gold hoops from her ears.

"Calling Damon to let him know someone just killed his girlfriend." Alaric replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Again."

Bonnie pushed away from the door, darting the short distance to Aria's bed and grabbed his arm. "No. We don't need to call Damon until we know who he needs to kill."

Caroline paused in the process of removing Aria's rings from her fingers and looked up at Bonnie with a surprised expression lifting her pale eyebrows. "I think you've spent too much time with Damon."

"You _want_ him to kill someone?" Alaric asked, just as surprised as Caroline. "Bonnie Bennett _wants_ someone dead?"

Bonnie scrunched up her face slightly and rolled her eyes. "I wanted _Damon_ dead at one point in time. So did Stefan, Elena, and both of you." She gestured to Aria's lifeless body as Caroline removed the faux fur vest, leaving Aria dressed more comfortably in her long sleeve, black lace dress, navy and cream printed tank top, striped tights and black ankle socks. Caroline slipped her arms under Aria and Bonnie moved quickly to pull back the covers so Caroline could put her back down. Once Aria was settled on the sheets Bonnie draped the blankets over her body. If anyone came in it would look like she was taking a nap. "She's only been here for a little while, but I _really_ like Aria, and she's been put through hell already. Now someone uses a witch to kill her? I want the witch and whoever they're working for dead."

Alaric twisted around to look at Aria. He had never had children of his own, but he felt very protective of Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler. They were all adults now, but he was the one they came to for advice when they didn't have a parent to ask, and Elena technically _was_ his step-daughter. Taking care of his friends was as close to having his own kids as he would ever get, and Aria had quickly been added to the list of people he felt he needed to watch over.

About a week ago she had come to his classroom to work on some short story she was writing for the school paper, and he had decided to grade papers there that night for some reason. They had both worked in a comfortable silence for a while, and then she had asked his advice about Damon's lingering feelings for Elena. He had given it, telling her that she needed to talk to Damon about it, and she had given him an odd smile. When he had inquired about the look she had admitted that she thought of him sort of as a stand in for her dad while she was away from home.

It had been a very special moment for him because he had already started to see her the same way he saw Elena, as a daughter.

Bonnie and Caroline stood beside the bed and Alaric watched as Caroline gently brushed Aria's dark hair away from her face. When they found out who had done this, and who they were working for, he intended to help Damon and Bonnie kill them.

**I wrote this chapter before I named it, as always, and I named it Death of the Maiden, not only because Aria dies, but because I thought "Death and the Maiden" was the title of a PLL episode. I thought that would be a nice little homage to the show, so I looked it up to be certain. "Death and the Maiden" is NOT a PLL episode, but I was surprised to find that it IS the title of Ravenswood (PLL spin-off for those unfamiliar) 1x02 AND TVD 5x07. What a coincidence!**


	16. Chapter 16: She Needs You

Chapter 16: She Needs You

Caroline paced back and forth across the room as she waited for Aria's ring to bring her back to life. Bonnie and Alaric had taken some hairs and a small vial of blood and gone to see if Liv and Luke could help them figure out exactly what had happened. Live and Bonnie were the only ones with powers, but Luke could still toss his two cents in. They would've called Jo in to help as well, but she had left a couple of months ago for a new job and they hadn't heard from her since. Caroline had faith in Bonnie and Liv's abilities, but that didn't stop her from finding something to worry about.

"What if the ring makes her go crazy like it did with Alaric?" she asked as she paused at the foot of Aria's bed and gazed briefly at the friend she had developed a sort of motherly protectiveness for in the last couple of months. "She's already died twice with it."

"Calm down, Caroline." Damon said calmly over the phone. "Bonnie fixed that problem, remember? She reworked the spell when she made Aria's ring and respelled the Gilbert rings."

"But what if it doesn't work?" Caroline demanded. "We won't know if the problem's really fixed until someone dies one too many times and then tries to commit suicide."

"Maybe she'll be murderous and not suicidal like Ric." Damon suggested. "Or maybe her alter ego is a pot smoking pacifist like Ric hoped Jeremy's was. At least she'd be calmer."

Caroline stopped dead in her tracks at in front of the fireplace. "Seriously, Damon? Not funny!"

Damon continued to drive about fifteen miles over the speed limit as he tried to calm Caroline over the phone and hid the fact that he was just as worried as she was. "If the ring's going to drive her crazy there's nothing we can do until it happens, Caroline. Worrying about it isn't going to change the outcome any. And don't you dare say anything about it to Aria. The last thing she needs is to know that the ring that was made to protect her might actually cause her greatest fear to come true."

Caroline turned and looked across the room at Aria. "The ring has nothing to do with A or Alison."

"No, but deep down she knows neither of them can hurt her now." Damon said. "Even if Alison does escape Aria knows she's safe with us. She doesn't want to admit it, but her real fear is that everything she went through _is_ actually pushing her toward insanity."

Aria suddenly sat up, gasping for air, and a flood of relief washed over Caroline. "She's back. Hurry up."

She hung up without saying goodbye, or giving Damon a chance to say anything, and rushed to Aria's side.

Aria, realizing that she had just come back to life again and, remembering how she had died, promptly began to have a major panic attack. Her arms and chest hurt as if she was having a heart attack, she couldn't catch her breath and began hyperventilating, she was shaking, and she felt like she was in a dream. All of this combined with a crippling sense of fear that had her clinging to Caroline as she became hysterical. She was alive, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

"Where's Ezra?" was the first thing out of her mouth between terrified sobs and desperate attempts to catch her breath.

"Damon's on his way." Caroline said in a soothing voice. "He'll be here in a little while."

Despite what Bonnie had said earlier, and the fact that they had all agreed _not_ to tell Damon because of what he might do without thinking, Caroline had decided to call him anyway. She knew Aria well enough by now to know that she would be scared when she woke up, and that she would want Damon. There was no way she was going to tell her that he wasn't coming to console her and make everything okay. She was sure that Aria's need for him would keep him from doing anything irrational right away. Especially since they didn't even know what was going on.

Aria had asked for Ezra, but Caroline assumed she was simply confused in her state of panic. And even if she wasn't and really did want Ezra there was nothing they could do about that. He was states away, and couldn't get here any time soon. Damon would be here in minutes. Besides, Ezra didn't know about supernatural things. If they did call him he would probably want to know what had happened, or Aria would blurt out that she had been killed, and he would think she really _was_ going crazy. Any way you looked at it Damon was the better option in this particular situation.

Minutes seemed like hours as Caroline tried to console her friend. The panic attack had taken firm hold by now and Aria was fighting hard against it, but she couldn't get it under control. Caroline wanted desperately to compel her to calm down, but she couldn't. Aria had obediently been drinking vervain in everything since discovering the truth, and although the herb wouldn't burn quite as much since she had taken Elena's advice and started building up her immunity to it, it still effectively blocked compulsion.

She was so focused on Aria that she didn't hear Damon come in and jumped slightly when he touched her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, relieved to see him.

"Aria?" he said as he took Caroline's place beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his body. "It's okay, baby."

Caroline stepped out into the hallway to call Bonnie and see if they were making any progress and Aria looked up at Damon, confusion clouding her hazel eyes.

"Damon?" she asked as she pushed away from him, the panic attack still holding her firmly in it's grip.

"I'm right here." He said as he pulled her back in gently. "You're alright."

"Where's Ezra?" she asked.

The words stung a little, but he brushed them off. "Ezra's in Rosewood, Aria." Okay. It stung a lot. Ezra was supposed to be part of her past. She was with him now, but she wanted her ex. It hurt, but Damon told himself it was just the panic talking. She was used to seeking comfort from Ezra at times like these. She had asked for him out of habit, and if it would help her to calm down and feel less afraid he was willing to do it. "He won't be able to get here until tomorrow, but I can call him if you want."

Aria was silent as she half clung to him and half pushed away. It was an odd sensation, and Damon didn't really know what to do about it.

"Do you want me to call him?" he asked, hoping she would say no. He wanted to be enough.

Aria nodded.

That really hurt.

Damon felt a small crack form in his heart, a heart that had quickly become very attached to the small, terrified young woman in his arms, as he reached for her phone that was sitting in her purse in the floor by her bed and dialed the number listed under the name Ezra Fitz.

His feelings be damned. He only wanted Aria to feel better. They could discuss the fact that it took her ex to do that later.

"Aria?"

"Not quite." Damon said. "I assume you're Ezra."

"Yes." Ezra confirmed. "Who are you?"

"Damon Salvatore." Damon replied. "Aria's…um…Elena's…" What was the proper way to introduce yourself over the phone to your girlfriend's ex-boyfriend who was currently dating the woman you had thought you would spend the rest of eternity with?

"I know who you are." Ezra said, relieving Damon from the uncomfortable task of trying to choose between two very awkward relationship statuses. "Why are you calling me?"

Damon was glad that Ezra only sounded confused and curious, and sleepy, instead of mad or upset. This was not exactly an ideal situation. "Because Aria asked me to. She's had…a rough night. She's having a panic attack, and she wants you."

Ezra sat up and got out of bed quietly, trying his best not to wake Elena. Things were equally awkward on his end of the conversation as well. "I'm in Rosewood. What does she want me to do?"

"I guess she wants you to come to Whitmore." Damon said as if it should be obvious, and to him it was. He wasn't enough. Aria wanted Ezra, which meant she wanted him to get in his car and come to her.

Ezra sighed. "I get that, but there's nothing I can do for her that you can't. And you're there. I'll come down there if she really wants me too, but I don't understand why she wants _me_."

Damon understood what he was saying. Aria had been the one to end the relationship, but that didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered was the crying, trembling girl in his lap that, for some reason, wanted her ex. All Damon wanted was for her to feel better, and he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that goal. Even if he had to drive up to Rosewood and bring Ezra back himself.

"Look." He said, growing determined and quickly irritated with the other man. "I don't know why she wants you instead of me, but she does. I'm sitting here with a terrified girl in my lap, and she's asking for _you_. I don't care who broke up with whom or how far away you are. All I care about right now is what Aria wants. For some reason she wants you. So I suggest you get in your car and get down here, or I'll come up and get you myself."

Ezra opened his mouth to speak, but the line was dead. Damon had hung up on him.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Your ex is a jerk." Ezra said.

Elena gave him a confused, sleepy look. "What?"

They had disposed of Katherine's body once it had become apparent that Elena's blood wasn't going to work, and then Spencer and Melissa had driven Andrea out to some desolate run-down motel in the middle of nowhere to keep her hidden. Jeremy was staying in the guest room Stefan and Alaric had occupied in the main house, and Elena hadn't wanted to stay out in the barn all by herself tonight. So she had called Ezra and asked him to come over after Andrea had left. It was the first night they had spent together and even though she was still half asleep and confused her brain wasn't too much out of order to appreciate the sight of him standing mere feet away in nothing but a pair of boxers, his dark, wavy hair disheveled from sleep and the events that had taken place before sleep.

"_Damon_ just called me." Ezra explained. "On Aria's phone, and demanded that I drop everything and drive down to Whitmore."

"Why?" Elena asked, instantly awake. She knew Damon could be a complete jerk sometimes, but she also knew he usually had a good reason for it.

Damon Salvatore was a man driven by love, and he would do anything for the person he bestowed that love on without worrying about hurting anyone else's feelings. She may not have the actual memories of their relationship, but she had her journals and she knew what he had been like since returning from the prison world. She also knew that all the terrible things he had done while she had still been with Stefan had been the result of his misguided, but determined love for Katherine.

Damon would _not_ be calling Ezra unless it was important, and Elena could only assume that something bad had happened to Aria.

Her heart sank into her stomach as she climbed out of bed and began getting dressed. "Is Aria okay?"

"He said she's had a rough day, and is having a panic attack." Ezra said, annoyance at Damon quickly fading only to be replaced with concern for Aria. "Apparently she asked for me."

"I know Damon." She said, throwing his jeans at him. "He wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. Get dressed. We're going to Whitmore."

Ezra simply stood there holding the pants she had thrown at him and staring at her. "_She_ broke up with _me_. For him! He's there. Why should I go? What can I do that Damon can't?"

Elena was surprised at his outburst. Ezra didn't strike her as an angry person, but she realized that he was still hurting from the breakup. He had loved Aria as much as Damon had loved her, and although he seemed to be happy with her part of him was still holding on to Aria. She had suspected as much ever since their first date, but it hadn't bothered her. It wasn't the first time she had dated someone that was still holding on to their ex in some way. Hadn't Stefan sought her out simply because she looked like Katherine and he had been curious?

She walked over to him, closing the space between them with just a few steps, and took his hand in hers. "Ezra, I know you love her, and I know she hurt you. But she needs you right now. Obviously I don't know why she asked for you, but Damon wouldn't have called if he thought he could handle it on his own. Trust me. That phone call wasn't anymore pleasant for him than it was for you. Whatever happened to Aria, he's worried about her. He's trying to take care of her, and right now that means at least letting you know that she asked for you. The least you can do is go help her."

"She'll be fine by the time we get there." He argued.

Elena shook her head, her voice suddenly taking on the same determined and slightly irritated tone Damon's had held moments ago. "I don't care. Get dressed. We're going."

He caught her arm as she turned to walk away. "Elena, I get that he's trying to help Aria, and it's great that you want to. I do too, but…"

"But what?" she inquired, forcing him to speak the words she already anticipated.

"I don't really want to meet the guy that she left me for." He admitted. "The guy that also happens to be your ex."

"Aria needs you."

With that she left him to get dressed and headed for the main house to wake Spencer and let her know what was going on.

Ezra sighed and reluctantly got dressed. Elena was right. He still loved Aria, and she wouldn't have asked for him if she didn't want him there. It wasn't going to be the most pleasant trip, having to meet Damon, but he would go. For Aria _and_ for Elena.


	17. Chapter 17:Familiar Faces

Chapter 17: Familiar Faces

Damon could see why Aria had thought he was Ezra that first night when her brain had been so scrambled. He had deliberately avoided looking at any pictures of her ex, but there was a clear resemblance between the two even if they were far from twins. It would have been easy for her panic riddled mind to morph his face into Ezra's at a time when she had so desperately wanted him.

He had tried to tell himself that that had been the case last night as well, but he knew better. Even if it had simply been out of habit some part of her had genuinely wanted her former English teacher. He understood that, but it still hurt that he wasn't enough when he had worked so hard to move on from Elena and actually thought he might be falling in love with Aria.

"You've only known each other for two months." Bonnie had said when he had expressed his feelings to her. "You can't honestly tell me that if the situation were reversed you wouldn't have asked for Elena."

Bonnie may have been right, but that didn't make it hurt any less. However, he really only wanted Aria to feel safe and happy. No matter how awkward the situation was for him. So he had brought her back to the house after she had finally calmed down last night, made her eat something because she still wasn't eating enough to satisfy him, and had spent the night watching over her. The fact that she had once again sought comfort in his arms made the fact that she had asked for Ezra a little easier, and he hadn't left her side for a second until she had awakened this morning and informed him that she had decided to drop out of school.

"It's too much." Was her explanation when he had asked if she was sure it was what she wanted. "I thought switching schools and leaving Rosewood would make things easier, but it all just followed me. And now Ali's got a witch working for her? It's just too much."

"We don't know that last night had anything to do with Alison." He had argued gently, stroking her hair as she snuggled closer, seeming to have forgotten all about Ezra.

She looked up at him, diluted fear shining in her eyes. "A witch is messing with my head and I'm hallucinating Alison. I don't know who actually choked me last night, but I saw Ali. She has to be involved. Why else would a witch want to torture me? I didn't know witches were real until I found out Bonnie was one."

"That doesn't mean you never pissed one off."

She had wanted to believe him, but had been unable to. She was convinced that Alison had something to do with whatever was going on, and as much as he wanted it to be someone else he was also convinced that her past wasn't quite finished with her yet.

"Damon?"

Elena's voice cut into his thoughts, pulling him back to the here and now, and he managed to smile at the trio just outside the foyer. He hoped it looked friendly as he stepped aside and gestured for them to come in.

Elena quickly made introductions, awkward as they were, and Damon led the way into the living room. He offered drinks that were turned down and wondered if Ezra had any idea of what he was walking into.

Elena had informed him that he didn't know the truth unless he had figured it out for himself. Based on what Aria had told him it wouldn't surprise him if he had if something had given him a reason to look into it.

"How's Aria?" Ezra asked, looking like he felt out of place.

"I think she's still a little shaken up." Damon said truthfully. "Last night was rough. She managed to sleep, but not very well. She tossed and turned all night, and woke up a couple of times. She's been eating better since she got here, but I can't get her to eat today. She ate a little last night once we got here, but not enough to make _me_ feel any better. And she refuses to leave her room."

"Damon?" Bonnie called quietly as she stepped into the room, casting a friendly smile on Spencer and Ezra. "I think we found something."

"Excuse me." Damon said politely, and followed Bonnie out of the room.

"So…"Spencer said when they were gone. "Can we see Aria?"

Elena heard a quiet thump from upstairs that wasn't loud enough to reach human ears. "You two chill out down here, and I'll go see if she's up for visitors."

Ezra opened his mouth to protest, but Elena had already turned to leave. He felt Spencer's hand on his arm and turned his attention to her. "What's going on?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Spencer admitted. No one had told her exactly what had happened last night, but she knew it was more than a panic attack. But since she was completely new to the supernatural world, and Ezra knew nothing about any of it, she was more than willing to let Elena take the reins. "But Aria's in good hands here. We just need to sit back and let Damon and Elena handle it."

"Aria asked for _me_."

"I know, but she may not be ready to see you just yet." Spencer cautioned. "She was scared when she asked for you, and the attack wasn't over until we were already on the road. She may have changed her mind. Let Elena go talk to her and see what's going on. Okay?"

Ezra was worried about Aria, and he was confused about the situation he had just walked into. Why was Elena, who had never met Aria, the one going to check on her? And what was everyone else looking for that had them so occupied. He had a bad feeling that something more was going on that just Aria's anxiety issues.

"Aria?" Elena called as she knocked on the door. "It's Elena. Are you okay in there?"

When she didn't get an answer she tested the knob and found it locked. Alarms sounded in her head and she threw herself against the door, breaking the lock in two tries. The door swung open and Elena stepped inside, but didn't see Aria anywhere.

"No." she breathed when she walked into the bathroom and saw Aria sitting in the floor among the broken shards of a glass bottle. She had used one of the sharp pieces to cut both of her wrists and blood was pouring out of her body.

Elena instinctively bit into her wrist and rushed forward to press it to Aria's mouth. "Drink, Aria. _Please._"

Aria weakly pushed Elena's arm away. "Let me die. She wants me dead."

"Oh my god!"

Elena looked over her shoulder and saw Caroline standing in the doorway, her blue eyes wide with shock and fright. "Caroline! Help me. She won't take my blood!"

"Let her win." Aria mumbled as the life seeped out of her wrists. "I can't do it anymore."

"_No_." Elena said firmly, pressing her wrist against Aria's mouth once more, determined to get her way. "I'm not letting you die, Aria. Alison's _not_ going to win!"

Caroline moved in behind Aria and tilted her head back, biting into her own wrist. "Aria, _please_ drink! Come on. It's Caroline. _Please!_"

"Aria." Elena said, gently pleading. "Aria, look at me. Spencer and Ezra are downstairs. Caroline and I are right here with you. Alison can't get to you. You know you're safe with us. Please drink."

Caroline felt like crying when Aria began feebly suckling on her wrist, and she slumped back against the bathtub awash with relief.

"The cuts are healing." Elena said, sounding just as relieved.

"Get her cleaned up and back in bed." Caroline ordered. "I'll clean up the mess she made in here."

"What the hell happened?" Damon demanded from the doorway.

Elena looked up at him as she pulled Aria away from the pool of blood and broken glass. "I think she's more than a little shaken up."

Caroline began mopping up the mess in the floor and Damon easily scooped Aria into his arms. Her wounds were healed, but she was covered in her own blood. So was Elena.

"She's got some clean clothes in the dresser." He said as he sat down on the bed with Aria still in his arms.

They worked together to get her cleaned up and changed while Caroline cleaned up the bathroom. Once Aria was cleaned up Damon moved to one of the chairs and held her close while Elena changed the sheets on the bed and then washed the blood off her own hands. She had to change as well, and was glad that she still had some clothes at the Salvatore house too.

"It's no use." Aria said weakly. "Ali's never going to stop until we're all dead. Now she has witches on her side. I don't stand a chance."

"Nonsense." Damon admonished gently. "Ali may have a witch, but you have a whole town full of angry, protective vampires, werewolves, _and_ witches. The bitch doesn't stand a chance."

"She wants me dead, Damon." Aria said.

A familiar fierce protectiveness came into his eyes. "I'll kill her before she can hurt you."

"Turn me."

"No." Caroline said as she emerged from the bathroom. "No way. You're staying human."

"Caroline." Damon said.

Caroline put her hands up in surrender and walked out of the room.

Damon looked back down at Aria. "Don't you want a family someday? You can't have one if you're a vampire. You can't stay in one place for the rest of your life because everyone will wonder why you're still twenty years old."

She shrugged. "I love to travel. And yes, I want a family someday, but right now I want to know without a doubt that Alison can't hurt me or anyone that I care about. And there's only one way I'm going to be certain of that."

The meaning of her words hit him and he had a sense of déjà vu as he gazed at her and saw yet another similarity to Elena. "You want her dead."

Aria nodded. "She can't hurt anyone if she's dead."

"Tell me where she is." Damon said. "I'll go snap her neck right now."

"No." Aria said, knowing that he already knew where Ali was. A hard determination swept over her face as she got up from his lap. "She messed with _my _life, _my _loved ones. She's got her witch playing dangerous games with _my_ mind. And I won't be able to kill her as a human. We tried. All of us working together couldn't outsmart her. She was always one step ahead. If I'm stronger and faster maybe _I _can finally have the upper hand."

Damon stood up and took her face in his hands. "Aria, listen to me. We will help you kill Alison. You've been training with Matt, and Jeremy, and Alaric. You've got your ring, and you've been drinking vervain. You've got all of us on your side. You _do _have the upper hand. Please, don't do anything stupid. Give us some time to figure out what's going on."

"Ali's trying to drive me insane!" Aria yelled. "That's what's going on, Damon."

He grabbed the arms that flailed out and pressed them back down to her sides. "I know. Her witch had a connection to your mind, but it broke when you died. We can find out who it is, and where they are, but we need you to allow them to make the connection again."

"What? How?"

"Bonnie thinks they think you're dead." He explained. "We don't think they knew about your ring. So we need to let them know that you're still alive. Live your life. Post on Facebook, go back to school. They'll figure it out eventually, and then we can find them when they make the connection again. Bonnie and Liv are working on kind of a low-jack spell right now that will let us know when another witch tries to cast a spell on you or make a connection through magic. I will happily let you be the one to kill Ali, but let us find her. Please?"

Aria looked up at him for a moment, and sighed. "Fine. But I can't go back to school. It really is too much right now. I feel safe _here_, with you. I know I'm safe with everyone at Whitmore, but…"

Damon nodded. "Okay. That's fine. Drop out of school, move in here. Just stay alive. We'll even go back to Rosewood and get the rest of your things if you want, spend a few days with your family, say hi to your friends."

She nodded. "Okay."

Relief flooded over him as he drew her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Good. Now, two of those friends are downstairs right now."

"Ezra's here?"

"You asked for him." Damon reminded her. "Spencer's here too."

"I…I didn't think he'd actually come."

"He wasn't going to." Elena said from the doorway. "I had to make him. He doesn't know about the supernatural stuff though. All he knows is that you had a rough day and a major panic attack. But he still loves you, and he's worried about you. So is Spencer."

Aria stared at the other woman for a moment and then nodded and moved to follow her downstairs.

"I'm Elena, by the way." Elena said. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Aria." Aria supplied, even though neither introduction was necessary. "Thanks. For trying to help me, and for taking care of Spencer and Ezra. I feel better about leaving knowing that you're there to protect them."

Elena wasn't convinced that Aria was out of the woods yet. Damon seemed to want to believe she would comply with his wishes, but Elena saw herself in the girl as well. Just as Ezra and everyone that knew Aria saw her in Elena. They were not the same person by any means, but there was no doubt that they were similar. And Elena knew that she would stop at nothing to protect her loved ones. She hadn't wanted to be a vampire, but she had been willing to die. Aria _did_ want to be a vampire because she was afraid to die. Elena wasn't ready to believe that her promise to Damon meant she was out of the suicide business forever. Promises mean nothing when you're desperate, and when Elena looked at Aria she saw a scared girl desperate to bring an end to the mess that had become her life, desperate to bring an end to Alison's torture.

Aria stopped abruptly at the entrance to the living room and spun around to face Damon and Elena, wide eyed with her hair wiping out behind her. "Wait. If Ali thinks I'm dead she'll go after someone else." She had forgotten that Spencer and Ezra were within earshot when the thought occurred to her.

"Dead?" Ezra asked, confusion settling over his face and coating his words. "Why would Ali think you're dead?"

"Ezra." Aria said, suddenly remembering his presence. It was a little shocking for her to see him in Damon's house, to be in the same room with both of them. "You didn't have to come. I…"

"I didn't have a choice." Ezra said, glancing at Elena before his worried blue eyes locked back on her face. "Why would Ali think you're dead? What's going on, Aria?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about." Elena assured him.

Ezra looked from Aria to Elena to Damon. They all knew something he didn't. There was something going on that involved Ali and Aria and they all knew about it.

"If this has anything to do with Alison I want to know what it is." He demanded, stepping toward the trio across the room. "What's going on?"

Spencer reached out from behind him and grabbed his arm. "Ezra, stop."

He turned to look at her. "Why am I the only one that has no idea what's going on? Has Ali escaped? Is she trying to hurt you girls again?"

"I found out by accident." Spencer insisted. "Trust me. It's better if you don't know."

"It's _safer_ if you don't know." Aria said, breaking away from Damon and Elena and moving toward Ezra. "Alison can't hurt me. You know that."

"I don't know that." He said, flinging her own argument back at her. "Aria, if you're in danger—"

"She's not." Damon said firmly, stepping forward. "She's perfectly safe here with us. I knew it was a bad idea to call you."

Ezra's eye's filled with fire as he glared at Damon. "You're the one that called me in the middle of the night and _demanded _I come down here because she asked for me!"

Damon took another step closer, growing just as defensive as Ezra. "I had a lapse of judgment. She asked for you out of habit, and I knew that's all it was, but I called just to be on the safe side because I wanted her to be happy. I should know by now that safe is a hell of a lot better than happy, and she's a hell of a lot safer with me than she is with you."

"I've never once put her in danger."

"Says the man that _stalked_ her and lied to her!" Damon shot back. "I can protect her."

"I almost _died_ trying to protect her!" Ezra yelled. "Don't you dare tell me I can't protect her! How can you protect her any better than I can?"

Fed up with the fighting and afraid certain secrets were about to be spilled that were better left unsaid, Aria stepped between them and was about to demand that they shut up when someone suddenly slammed into her and tried to whisk her out of the room. Spencer screamed and before anyone else could react Damon had her captor by the throat, pinned up against the wall, and was ready to rip his heart out.

In the process Aria had been knocked to the floor and Elena had moved her safely across the room quicker than a heartbeat, holding her protectively, and was ready to defend her. Aria and Spencer's screams brought Alaric, Caroline, Bonnie, and Liv out of the library where they had been working on the magic tracker spell, and everyone stared at the sight of Damon poised to kill the intruder.

Aria and Spencer recognized the unknown vampire seconds before his heart was ripped from his chest.

"Damon, no!" Aria yelled, pulling away from Elena.

At the same time Spencer rushed forward as well, "Don't hurt him!"

"Why not?" Damon demanded, not taking his eyes, or his hands, off his soon-to-be victim. One hand gripped the vampire's throat firmly, cutting off his air supply, while the other was already wrist deep in his chest, just waiting for an excuse to rid him of his heart. "He attacked you, Aria. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip his heart out right now."

"Because he's on our side!" Aria exclaimed before Damon could do what he was so obviously wanting to do. "We know him, Damon. Don't kill him yet."

"Yet?" Alaric asked from across the room. "You just said he's on our side."

"He was at one point." Spencer clarified. "Give us a chance to find out what he wants. He might be able to help."

"You want me to trust the guy that just tried to kidnap you?" Damon asked, directing his question to Aria even though his gaze remained locked on the intended kidnapper.

Aria broke free of Elena's loose grasp and walked determinedly across the room, stopping at the console table behind the couch that was littered with various liquor bottles, stacks of books, and an ornately carved wooden box. She opened the box and took out a decoratively carved wooden stake, one of a set of six.

"No." she said. "I don't want you to trust him. I want you to trust me."

Damon glanced at the stake in her hand and the anger in her eyes, and decided the smartest choice was to let her handle it her way and be ready to save her if necessary. He released the heart and withdrew his bloody hand, moving aside to make room for Aria.

The intruder glanced warily around the room as he relaxed the tiniest bit, still ready to fight if he needed to. His gaze fell on the stake in Aria's hand as she planted herself firmly in front of him. The fury in her eyes made him tense up again, but he didn't move or speak.

Ezra watched in shock and amazement as the scene unfolded before his eyes. Spencer was amazed at the changes in Aria as well, but what she was feeling was closer to Aria's reaction than Ezra's, mostly because she had some idea of what she was whitnessing.

Aria lifted the stake and pressed the point to her prisoner's chest, poking a hole in his shirt and slightly penetrating his flesh. She was ready to kill him if he made a move to harm anyone.

Her eyes glared up at him as she spoke. "Why are you here, Noel?"


	18. Chapter 18: Trust Me

Chapter 18: Trust Me

Noel lifted his hands in surrender. "I'm not here to _hurt_ anyone."

"That answer's not good enough, Noel." Spencer said as Aria pushed the stake a little farther into his chest.

Noel winced, but remained still to preserve his life.

"Spencer, why don't you and Ezra go into another room and let us handle this?" Alaric suggested.

Spencer shot him a look that said she wasn't going anywhere.

"They're fine where they are." Aria said hotly, keeping her gaze on Noel in case she had to act quickly and kill him. "Spencer and Ezra know Noel just as well as I do. And he's not going to hurt anyone. He's dead if he tries."

"I'm not here to hurt anyone." Noel repeated, insistence spilling out with the words.

"Why are you here, Noel?" Spencer demanded.

"Mona sent me." He said. "To protect Aria."

"She doesn't _need_ protection." Damon said, moving closer. "She's safe."

Aria held up her empty hand to stay Damon. "I've got this, Damon."

She wanted him to back away, but he stayed where he was. They all did.

"Did Mona turn you?" Aria asked.

Noel nodded. "Yes. And she sent me up here to watch over you. Ali has a witch, and for some reason she's set her sights on you."

"We're already aware of that." Alaric said.

"So Mona _is_ on our side?" Spencer asked.

"Mona's been on your side since she went to Radley." Noel replied. "So have I. I would never hurt you girls."

"Then why did you bust in here just now and try to kidnap Aria?" Elena asked.

Noel grabbed the stake, ripped it out of Aria's hand, and threw it across the room. It whizzed by Elena's head, grazing her cheek, and stuck in the wall behind her.

A room full of vampires moved to pounce, but Aria stopped them with one loud "No!". Everyone froze.

Ezra wanted to rush to help someone, but he wasn't sure if he should help Aria, who seemed to have things perfectly under control, or Elena, who was no longer bleeding. That fact caused him to stare at her in confusion. He had watched as the stake had flown passed her head, the tip slashing lightly across her cheek. She had flinched and the wound had bled, but now there was now sign of injury to be seen.

"I wasn't trying to kidnap Aria." Noel said, looking directly at her. "I was only trying to get her alone so I could talk to her."

"Well, I don't believe _that_." Damon said in a tone most of them had heard many times before.

"I do." Aria said.

Damon looked at her in disbelief. "What? Aria, if he wanted to talk to you he could've knocked on the door and asked for you. He could've _called_ you. Instead he decides to play tornado and drag you off to who knows where. How can you trust him?"

"Because we've trusted him before." Spencer said. "And he's never stabbed us in the back."

After a while the party broke up. Alaric and Caroline went back to help the witches with their spell, Elena took Ezra off to explain things to him, and Damon refused to leave Aria and Spencer alone with Noel.

"I could've called you or come to the door." Noel admitted. "But I wasn't sure we could really trust your new friends. You understand that, right?"

"No." Damon said as if the idea were preposterous.

"Damon." Aria chided and turned back to Noel. "Yes. I know we can't always trust new people."

Spencer nodded in agreement. "But if you've been watching Aria…"

"I haven't been here the entire time." Noel said. "It's just me and Mona. She's going back and forth between you and Alison, and I've been in New York keeping an eye on Hanna and Caleb. When Mona realized what Ali was doing she sent me down here. The night you saw me was the first night I was here."

"What about Wren?" Spencer asked. "Mona's body was never found and you just disappeared. Now you both turn up as vampires. Wren disappeared too. Is he working with you?"

Noel shrugged. "I don't know anything about what happened to Wren. You can ask Mona, but if she knows she hasn't shared that information with me."

"Do you know who Ali's witch is?" Aria asked. "And if Mona knew what was going on, why didn't she stop it?"

"We tried to, but Ali's witch won't let us get near Ali."

"Does the witch have a name?" Damon asked.

"Not one that I know." Noel replied. "I've never seen her, and Mona doesn't tell me everything. Only what I need to know."

"Good ole Mona." Spencer muttered.

"Aria?" Liv said as she entered the room. "The spell's ready."

Aria and Damon got up to follow her, but Damon paused and turned back, motioning for Noel and Spencer to join them as well. "Come on. I'm pretty sure Elena and/or Aria will kill me if I let Spencer get killed, and I don't trust you even if they do. I'm not letting either one of you out of my sight."

"Elena wasn't kidding when she said he's over-protective." Spencer whispered to Aria.

Aria giggled and shushed her.

"Did Elena also tell you about how vampires can hear _everything_?" Damon asked over his shoulder.

"Elena told me _everything_." Spencer replied. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You wouldn't be the first person to make that mistake." Damon said, flashing a grin. "I'm a _very_ dangerous man, Spencer."

To demonstrate he rushed over and grabbed Aria, pretending to bite her neck. She let out a shrieking giggle and pushed against his chest with both hands.

"You can't feed on me!" she exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her temple. "I drink vervain."

"So do I." His eyes widened and his eyebrows jerked up. A slow smile spread across his face as his blue eyes gazed into her hazel ones. "I can feed on you. I just can't compel you."

Aria pulled her hair to one side and tilted her head. "I dare you. You don't drink that much vervain."

Damon studied her exposed neck, a mischievous smirk on his face. He trailed a finger along her carotid artery as if considering taking a sip. Spencer flinched when she was his fangs appear and his face changed, afraid he was actually going to bite Aria. She sensed Noel tense up beside her, clearly ready to intervene.

Suddenly Damon's face went back to normal and he smiled at Aria. "Maybe later. When we don't have an audience. Noel looks like he's ready to rip my throat out."

"Some big, bad vampire you are." Aria teased.

Damon shrugged and looked at Noel. "By the way, you don't stand a chance against me. So you might as well accept the fact that I would _never_ hurt Aria, and I won't let anyone else hurt her either."

"If you guys are done with your foreplay can we please cast this spell?" Liv asked.

%%%

While Bonnie and Liv were back at the house casting their spell on Aria, Elena and Ezra had wandered through the woods all the way to the Lockwood cellar while she reluctantly explained things to him.

He couldn't believe his ears as she sat down on the crumbling brick wall. There was a set of stairs behind her that led underground, and Ezra stared at her for a long time as he remained standing, wondering if she might be planning on taking him down there to kill him.

Last night she had thrown on the sweater and jeans he had taken off her a few hours before as she was yelling at him that he needed to come down here to see Aria even if he didn't want to. The black leather jacket and brown combat boots were the same ones she had left Rosewood in, but the sweater and jeans were different. Sometime between going up to check on Aria and coming back down with her she had changed her clothes for some reason. He didn't know why, but that mystery wasn't the biggest thing on his mind right now.

At the moment he was much more concerned with the fact that she had just spent the entirety of a long walk in the woods telling him she, and practically everyone else she knew, was a vampire. If they weren't a vampire they were a witch or a werewolf, or had some other unbelievable supernatural something or other going on. He didn't want to believe it because it all sounded too crazy to be real, but he had seen it with his own eyes just a little while ago.

Noel was a vampire and he had burst into the house and attacked Aria. Damon and Elena had both moved faster than humanly possible, and there wasn't the slightest sign of the cut Elena had received when Noel had thrown that…stake at her.

Stakes. Wooden stakes to kill vampires. Aria had held one in her hands and fearlessly stood up to someone that could easily kill her before she could even think to move.

"Aria can't stay here." He said.

"She's safe here." Elena assured him.

"You just told me that she's living in a house full of vampires. How can she be safe?" he demanded, feeling protective of his ex and a little afraid of Elena.

She wanted to stand up and lay a comforting hand on his arm or take his hand in hers, but she remained where she was. She could see the fear and confusion in his eyes, and she didn't want to scare him. She would never hurt him, but it was clear that he was no longer certain of that fact.

"Ezra," she said from her spot on the old wall of the Lockwood cellar. "I promise you my friends will _never_ let anything bad happen to her. Nothing permanent anyway."

He squinted slightly in confusion. "Nothing permanent? What the hell does that mean?"

Elena sighed, knowing she had to tell him the rest even though she didn't really want to. "Aria didn't just have a rough day yesterday. She…she died."

"So she's a vampire now too?" Ezra asked.

"No." Elena replied, shaking her head. "No. She's not a vampire, and she's not going to be if we can help it. She died, but she has a special ring that protects her. It's magic, and it brings her back to life when she dies, but only if she was killed by someone, or something, supernatural."

Ezra was silent for a long moment as he processed the information. "What…killed her?"

"Alison has a witch working for her." Elena said truthfully. "We don't know who the witch is or where he or she is, but Bonnie and Liv are putting a spell on Aria right now to help us figure that out. This witch had a magical connection to Aria's mind, and we think that's what was causing her hallucinations. She's not going crazy. Alison's messing with her mind."

Ezra didn't really want to be any closer to her simply because he wasn't completely certain he was safe with her, but he couldn't stand there any longer. So he sat on a part of the wall that was a few feet away from her and a little higher up. "She said something about Ali thinking she was dead."

Elena nodded, shifting to face him as the sun began to sink in the sky. "Last night Ali's witch managed to telepathically choke Aria and break her neck. Her death broke the connection, which would've been obvious to Ali's witch as soon as it happened. They would've felt it, and we don't have any reason to believe Ali doesn't think Aria is dead. We don't think she knows about the ring. Aria was worried that with her dead Ali would start going after someone else. You, or Spencer, or someone else Alison has a grudge against."

"She's right." Ezra said. "Alison wants revenge on all of us. Now that she thinks she's got Aria out of the way, what's to stop her from moving on to someone that isn't protected by a magic ring?"

"Us." Elena said. "Bonnie and Liv are putting the spell on Aria that will let us track any other spell cast on her so we can figure out who cast them. Once the tracking spell is cast Aria's going to continue her life as usual and eventually Ali will realize that she isn't dead. We're hoping she'll have her witch make the connection again. And she's got her ring and everyone here to help protect her. She's learning how to fight and kill vampires, and according to Jeremy she's learning fast and she's good. She's drinking vervain to guard against compulsion and being fed on. She'll be fine."

"What about the rest of us?" he asked.

"You've got Jeremy, and I keeping an eye on things in Rosewood." Elena explained. "Melissa knows all of this as well, and she's got a stash of vampire blood to use in case of emergency. Enzo and Matt are in New York with Hanna and Caleb. Stefan's going to be returning to Rosewood with us to fix Spencer's car, so that's one more vampire to watch over you. And Bonnie's in the process of making more rings to keep the rest of you safe. You don't have anything to worry about, Ezra. We've got this under control."

He swallowed. "Okay. I'm going to trust you because I don't think I have much choice, but I don't want to be a part of all the supernatural stuff. I don't want to know that you're a vampire, and that Aria has a magic ring that brought her back from the dead. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me all of this, but I've had enough drama and death in my life because of Alison DiLaurentis. I don't want to live anymore nightmares."

"Ezra…"

"You said you can erase memories." He said. "I don't want to know any of this."

"I can't compel you, Ezra." She said.

"Why not?"

"Because you're full of vervain." Elena explained. "Melissa's had Spencer and Veronica on it ever since she came back to Rosewood, but I wanted to protect you too. And Emily, and everyone else. I put vervain in the water supply, and I've slipped it into every drink you've had with me. I'd either have to wait until it was completely out of your system, or I'd have to drain it out. Waiting would take too long, and I'm _not_ going to cut you open and bleed you. Besides, you need to know these things so you can protect yourself. I will do everything I can to keep you safe, but it's not easy when you have more than one person to look after. It's not easy when you _only_ have one person to look after. We need you're help to keep you safe. You need to be aware of the danger."

"Alright." He said after a while. He wasn't exactly happy about it, but her explanation made sense. If knowing these things would help keep himself and everyone he cared about safe he would hold on to the knowledge. He had promised Aria he would do whatever he could to help her after all.

That promise may have been made before she left Rosewood, before she left him for Damon, but he still meant to keep it. No matter what had happened between them, and no matter how much he was coming to care about Elena, he still cared about Aria too. He couldn't stand the thought of something bad happening to her if he could help stop it in some way.

%%%

"How is Aria?" Mona asked as she relaxed for a moment in one of her many hideouts with a glass of wine. Her time as A was still serving her well.

"Aria's fine." Noel said, looking out of the window of the bedroom Damon had directed him to for the night. He moved the curtain further out of the way so he could see better. "I'm going back to New York in the morning."

Mona sat up and placed her wine glass on the table. Her voice changed from conversational to commanding. "No. You're going to stay right where you are and keep an eye on Aria. _She's_ the one Alison's targeting."

Noel turned away from the window. "We aren't the only ones looking out for the people Ali wants dead, Mona. Aria is very well protected here, and Spencer and the others are very well protected in Rosewood. Two of Elena's friends are in New York watching out for Hanna and Caleb, but only one of them is a vampire. The other is a human with a magic ring that protects against death by supernatural causes. Aria has one as well, and their witches are making more for everyone else. I'm not needed here."

Mona considered what he had told her. "And you're absolutely sure that we can trust Elena Gilbert and her friends?"

"They were all more than ready to kill me without a second thought when I tried to get Aria out of the house to talk to her." Noel said. "Aria was the one that had me pinned against the wall with a stake, and she wasn't playing around. The only reason any of them trust me is because Aria and Spencer vouched for me, and I don't think they really trust me all that much. The girls are willing to though, so they've all decided to give me a chance and seem to be perfectly okay with me going to New York."

"Do they know about Ali's witch?"

"Yes. They know everything, and they're doing more to fight her than you seem to be doing." Noel said, a hint of acid in his voice.

"We may be vampires, but Alison is dangerous, Noel." Mona reminded him. "I turned you because I trust you. You need to trust me too."

"I do trust you, Mona." Noel assured her. "But it seems like all we're doing is _watching_ everyone. We need to work with them and put a stop to Alison. Aria tried to kill herself today because of Ali. Her ring wouldn't have brought her back from that."

"Exactly why I want you there with her."

"She's got an entire town full of people here with her." Noel said. "I'm going to New York whether you like it or not. Alison thinks Aria's dead, so she'll be moving on to someone else. Hanna and Caleb need more protection."

Mona sighed again and relaxed once more. "Fine. Go to New York. But be careful."

"Alison couldn't kill me as a human." Noel said. "She can't hurt me as a vampire."

"I meant be careful about Elena's friends." Mona said. "Even if Aria and Spencer trust them I'm not willing to let my guard down completely. You shouldn't be either."

"I won't." he said to reassure her and hung up.

There was a knock on the door and he opened it to find Aria standing in the hallway. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded and surprised him with a hug. "Thank you for trying to help keep me safe, Noel."

He smiled and hugged back. "Thank you for not killing me."


	19. Chapter 19: You Made Me Love You

Chapter 19: You Made Me Love You

"What's wrong?" Damon asked.

It had been about a week since Ali's witch had killed her and Noel had shown up out of the blue. Noel had gone on to New York to help Matt and Enzo make sure Hanna and Caleb were safe, and Aria had gone on about her life, making the necessary arrangements to leave school and move in with Damon and Stefan.

She and the Salvatores had arrived in Rosewood yesterday afternoon, with Stefan bunking with Jeremy in the Hastings' guest room and Damon staying with her at her parents' house. It wasn't too weird being back in her old bed even though she had thought it would be with everything that had happened since she had last slept in it, but it was a little strange to wake up in her brass daybed with Damon's arm protectively draped over her waist. The only changes in the room were the items that were currently in Mystic Falls and his presence.

Last night the room had felt much smaller when they had been getting ready for bed. Other than Mike and her father the only man that had been in this room, that she knew of, was Ezra. And he had only come in for a little while to make sure they were okay after his ex-fiancé had showed up at a party her parents were hosting. Spencer, Hanna, and Emily had all spent the night in this room, but Damon was the first man to ever share her adolescent bed.

Her parents knew he was in here. They didn't have a guest room, so he would've been sleeping in here or on the couch even if they hadn't been dating. But since she was a grown woman now, technically living on her own even though she wasn't living alone, she hadn't corrected him when he had assumed he would be sleeping in her room. It didn't bother her parents in the least, and Mike and Piper had been living together in his room across the hall for months. It didn't really bother Aria having him here either. It was just something she wasn't used to, and she was very aware that he was there.

It was a good thing though because she felt safe, and she wasn't inclined to completely panic when she had been awakened from a dream she couldn't remember by a strange sensation she had never felt before. She wasn't sure if Damon had already been awake or not, but he had sensed that something was off when she had sucked in an audible breath, conveying surprise and fear, and sat up. Maybe it was simply because there was hardly any space between them in the bed.

It wasn't quite a double, but it was big enough to fit two even if there wasn't really any room to move. She knew the lack of space could have been why Damon had become instantly alert, but she was more inclined to believe that it was because he cared about her and was ever ready to fight off any evil that may settle over her.

She put her hand to her chest, absentmindedly rubbing like she did when she started to feel a panic attack come on, and stared at the blanket with a mixture of fear, uncertainty, and confusion.

Damon sat up beside her and slipped his arm around her, partly because of the limited space. "Aria?"

She automatically leaned into him, taking comfort in the feel of his skin on hers, and his other arm came around her. He was holding her now and she laid her head on his shoulder, needing the safety of the embrace.

"Are you having a panic attack?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. It's something else. I felt this…weird sensation. Like something clicked into place. And now my head feels…crowded or something. I'm not really sure how to explain it."

Damon smiled and kissed the top of her head before resting his chin in the same place. He tightened his grip slightly. "It worked."

"What worked?" she asked sitting up and pulling away so that she could look at him. "The spell?"

He nodded. "I bet what you felt was Ali's witch reconnecting."

Aria realized what that meant and she knew she should be afraid of what might happen now that Ali had the ability to control her mind again, but what she felt instead was relief and hope. She let out a sigh and grinned involuntarily. "It worked. Now we can find out who's been torturing me."

"Yes ma'am."

"I know I should probably be freaked out about what they can do now that they have control again, but I'm not." She confided, still smiling. "I'm excited. We're one step closer to ending Alison's reign of terror."

She spontaneously threw her arms around Damon's neck and placed a smacking kiss on his lips. He smiled and flipped her onto her back, careful not to hit her head on the brass frame of the bed, and began kissing her neck, slowly working his way down to a place only he was allowed to venture into.

Breakfast was over and her parents and Mike had already left for their respective jobs by the time Aria and Damon finally got out of bed, got dressed, and made their way downstairs to find Piper playing with Laurel in the living room floor.

"The drive up from Mystic Falls must've worn you two out." Piper said, looking up at them with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Damon turned toward the kitchen to make breakfast for Aria since she had already provided his, and Aria flopped down on the couch, smiling at the girl that had saved Mike from his depression after Mona's death.

"It's not the drive that has me worn out." She replied, her eyes echoing the glint in Piper's.

Piper grinned. "More like Damon's _sex_ drive. Everyone must be so jealous of you finding a guy that looks like _that_ and treats you so well."

Knowing that Damon could easily hear every word although Piper was speaking quietly, and was more than likely listening, Aria glanced toward the kitchen and smiled. "He's wonderful."

Laurel climbed up on the couch and made herself comfortable in her big sister's lap. Piper, whose belly wasn't so big that she had too much trouble moving around yet, got up and joined them, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

Aria happily let her baby sister take hold of her hands and clap them together as she gazed at the television. "Do you have any idea how nice it is to turn on the news and not see a report about you and your friends?"

Piper's hand rested on her belly as she leaned back against the cushions. "I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you. I'm glad it's all over."

"Me too." Aria said with a smile. It wasn't over yet, but she couldn't really tell Piper that. And it was closer to being over now that they could track down Ali's witch.

They were watching some children's show featuring characters with annoyingly squeaky voices when Damon came in and delivered Aria's breakfast.

She removed the child from her lap and accepted a plate full of pancakes and a kiss, getting up only to retrieve a TV tray so she didn't have to go into the dining room and leave the cozy scene she was enjoying with Piper and Laurel.

Damon didn't strike her as child-friendly, but Laurel had taken an instant liking to him the night he had invited her family over for dinner, and he didn't seem too terrified of her.

"Damon!" the little girl exclaimed as she slid off the couch and launched herself at him.

Clearly her instant liking wasn't a short lived one.

Damon picked her up and settled into a chair with her in his lap, seeming only mildly uncomfortable. Aria smiled at him as she stuffed a bite of her meal into her mouth, proud of him for making the effort to play with a cheerful, energetic toddler who looked very out of place in her colorfully striped sweater, fuchsia leggings, and bouncing pigtails against the darkness of his…everything.

Byron and Ella had easily guessed Damon's bad boy reputation, and she wondered what her parents would think if they knew just how dangerous he really was.

%%%

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the park with us?" Piper asked as she settled the diaper bag and her purse on her shoulder, trying to coax someone into going with her. "It's gonna be lots of fun, and I can't say I'd mind a little company while Laurel plays and the other moms ignore me."

Aria could tell that Piper honestly wanted someone to come with her, and she started to say yes, but didn't for two reasons. Both of her parents would be at school all day and Mike would be at work and then going to his classes at Hollis. While Piper had Laurel at the park she would have a few hours completely alone with Damon. That didn't happen too often and she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. And what if Ali's witch started messing with her mind again? She didn't want to be at the play ground when she had a magically induced psychotic break.

"Damon's not really the play ground type." She said. "And what kind of girlfriend leaves her new boyfriend alone in her parents' house on the first visit?"

Piper smiled. "You know, you could just be honest with me and tell me you want some more…" she paused to pointedly clear her throat and wiggle her eyebrows. "_Alone time_ with your impossibly sexy boyfriend."

"Alright, fine. I want some more…" Aria paused to mimic Piper's throat clearing and eyebrow wiggling. "_Alone time_ with my impossibly sexy boyfriend."

Piper laughed as she scooped up Laurel and opened the front door. "Well, enjoy your alone time, but be careful. Don't want to end up like me. Not that I'm completely unhappy with the situation."

"I won't end up like you." Aria promise and shut the door once the younger girls were gone. "Vampires can't procreate."

"But we love to try." Damon said from the bottom of the stairs. "Just got off the phone with Bon Bon. She and Liv are busy with classes and that whole higher education thing, but they'll both be free in an hour and can focus on tracking down our mystery witch bitch. Would you happen to be interested in passing the time in bed with your impossibly sexy boyfriend?"

Aria was only slightly embarrassed that he had heard that particular conversation.

Pushing her embarrassment aside she walked over and ran her hands up his arms, linking her fingers behind his neck. "That depends. Are you going to unexpectedly snack on me again?"

He pulled her closer and smiled before kissing her. "That can be arranged."

"I'm not sure I want it to be arranged." She replied, pressing against him.

He smiled again. "We'll see how it goes."

Aria giggled as he scooped her into his arms and dumped her onto her bed two seconds later.

He was on top of her with no shirt when she opened her mouth to thank him for making her feel so safe once again, but that's not what came out. Instead she surprised both of them by saying "I love you."

Damon blinked and stared at her for a moment. She held her breath and wished she could rewind and keep the words from popping out of her mouth. She was afraid she had just ruined everything.

"Once I finally had Elena I never intended to say those words to another woman for the rest of my life." He said, shifting so that he was lying on his side beside her with his head propped in one had and the other reaching for hers.

Aria swallowed, wanting him to continue and to stop at the same time. "You don't have to. I shouldn't have. I didn't even realize I felt that way until it slipped out."

She moved to sit up, but he stopped her, pressing her back down with his arm. "Aria, it's okay. You can tell me anything. And I _do_ have to say it."

"Why?" she asked involuntarily when he paused.

Damon smiled and let go of her hand to brush the backs of his fingers over her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Because I _want_ to."

Her breath caught in her chest as she waited for him to speak again.

"I never intended to say it to another woman because I never thought there would _be_ another woman." He said, cupping her face in his hand and running his thumb over her bottom lip. "But I was wrong."

Aria was surprised when a tear rolled down her cheek as he leaned in and kissed her tenderly, lovingly.

"I love you, Aria." He whispered and wiped the tear away as another quickly chased it. He sat up and drew her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her as she continued to cry silently. "Why are you crying?"

She wiped at the tears streaming from both eyes and looked up at him. "Everything you just said about Elena is exactly what I felt for Ezra. When I left Rosewood I knew it was over, but I couldn't bring myself to end it. I was miserable, and it was tearing him apart not to be able to help me. I still loved him, I _still _love him. I think I always will in some way, but then things started going crazy and I thought _I_ was going crazy. I was so scared that night at the party. I could feel my life crumbling around me and I had no control over it, and all of a sudden you swooped in out of nowhere and you scared me half to death, but…you saved me, Damon. You made me feel safe. You made me feel like I could get through this part of my life and come out in one piece, and…and you made me fall in love with you. Thank you."

Damon chuckled softly and hugged her, kissing her forehead. "You're welcome."

A laugh escaped her, sounding more like a weak cough, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

"And thank _you _for forcing me to move on from Elena." He said. "If I had kept waiting for her to figure things out I would've ended up back where I was when I first met her. Back when I thought I still had a chance with Katherine."

He reached over and plucked a tissue from the box beside her bed, using it in an attempt to dry her face. He pushed her hair back and took her face in his hands, smiling softly and looking deep into her big, watery eyes. "I love you."

Aria sniffed and covered one of his hands with her own. "I love you too."

**Aria wasn't the only one crying while this chapter was being written. Oh, the feels!**


	20. Chapter 20: Turning Point

Chapter 20: Turning Point

"Hi." Elena smiled when the door opened.

Ezra stood there staring at her for a moment and then stepped aside to let her in. "Hi."

She waited for him to close the door and remained standing near the couch. "I haven't heard from you since we got back."

"There's a reason for that."

She nodded. "I know. Trust me. I've been where you are. When Stefan…"

"I'm afraid of you, Elena." Ezra admitted, blurting out the words and cutting her off. "You're wonderful, but…"

Elena smiled sadly, wanting to reach out and touch him. "I know." This wasn't as hard as her final breakup with Stefan had been. Not yet anyway. And she couldn't remember any of her breakups with Damon.

"I know that you don't want to hurt me." He said, taking one small step closer.

"Of course not." She assured him. "You're safe with me. With all of us."

"With Damon?" he countered. "I know you think he's still holding out hope for you, Elena, and maybe part of him is…" Did he really want to say this? Upsetting a vampire couldn't possibly lead to anything good.

But he had to say it. She needed to know, and he couldn't tell if she had figured it out for herself yet.

He took a breath and plunged in. "I saw the way he protected Aria the other day. I saw the way he was with her, the way her looked at her. Based on what you've told me I have a feeling she was only a way to pass the time until you figured things out, but…"

"He's in love with her." Elena finished when he couldn't. She was surprised to realize that saying it out loud hurt her a little. As she stood there looking at Ezra she felt a small pang of jealousy because Damon had moved on. To Aria. "I know. I recognized the look on his face."

"I thought you erased your memories."

"I don't remember loving Damon, but I do remember the way he looked when he thought he was still in love with Katherine." She explained. "And I have pictures of the way he looked at me."

There was a long stretch of silence, eased slightly by the ticking of a clock and the whoosh of the heat coming on, during which they simply stood there and stared at each other.

Finally Elena found her voice again. "And yes. You _are_ safe with Damon. Because he saw the way Aria looked at _you_ the other day."

Ezra remained silent. He didn't know what to say.

"She loves both of you, and Damon loves both of us." Elena continued when it was clear that his silence was a request for an explanation. "I have feelings for both of you, and you have feelings for both of us. Because of that you're on Damon's Do Not Kill list. I promise you have nothing to worry about, Ezra." She took a step toward him, and this time she did take his hand. "You're safe."

He believed her. He wasn't sure why, but he did. However, he was still afraid of her and hoped he didn't hurt her when he slowly pulled his hand away.

There was that sad smile again.

"You didn't come here just to say hi." He said after another long moment passed in silence. "Did you?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I came here to tell you that I've finally made up my mind."

"About what?" He already knew the answer.

"I've decided to have Ric undo the compulsion."

"So now it's Damon's turn to be in the center of a love triangle." Ezra guessed, teasing lightly because she had informed him of how things had been between her and the Salvatore brothers at one point.

"Maybe." She admitted. "But I'm going to wait until this mess with Alison is over. I don't know how Damon will react to me getting my memories back now, and I don't want to risk a broken heart for Aria until she knows she's safe from Ali."

Ezra nodded and smiled. "You are amazing."

In the middle of this ridiculous mess she was willing to set aside her own possible happiness to spare Aria some pain in case Damon chose to leave her when Elena remembered their past. He knew Aria would be hurt anyway, but at least, if it did happen, the blow wouldn't be so damaging with Ali no longer lurking just out of sight.

"I'm not telling anyone else yet." Elena warned. "I just wanted you to know."

"Your secret's safe with me." Ezra promised. "Do you want to stay for dinner? Or go out or something?"

Elena smiled, thinking that he was amazing as well. He was afraid of her because she was a vampire and she had just told him that he would possibly loose her to her ex sometime in the near future, but he was still willing to spend time with her.

"I would love to, but with Jeremy and Stefan in town Veronica wants us to have a big family dinner at the house." She explained, regretfully declining his invitation. "I don't think they'd mind if you joined us."

"I think one vampire at a time is enough for me right now." he said.

"I know that feeling." She replied. "Okay. Well, if you change your mind you know my number."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she left and wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling as she drove home. He was afraid of her, but he wasn't breaking up with her. Apparently he still wanted to be with her. She wanted to stay with him too, but she had decided to get her memories of Damon back. She was being unfair to herself and to Damon, but once her memories were back would she leave Ezra and immediately run into Damon's arms? And what about Aria? She liked the scared little brunette, and she didn't want to see her hurt. When Damon found out she had her memories back would it change the way he felt about Aria? Was she about to ruin everything for four people just because she wanted to actually remember loving her ex? She had managed to go this long without those memories, so why not keep going? They had all moved on. Wasn't that a good thing?

%%%

Emily was sitting cross-legged on the ground outside the barn when Elena got home. The sun was starting to go down and all Elena could think was that there was no telling how many vampires might be lurking around Rosewood at night looking for a snack. She had made sure there was plenty of vervain in the town water supply, but that couldn't keep Emily from getting her neck snapped.

"Emily?" Elena called as she climbed out of her car and shut the door.

Emily stood up and gazed at Elena with a look of confusion. "I don't know why I'm here. I just know that I needed to come find you."

Elena smiled. "You're ready to make up with Spencer."

"What?" Emily asked, her confusion only deepening. "No. Spencer's mad at me."

"Because part of you still loves Alison." Elena said. "I know, and I can help you with that. That's why you're here. I compelled you to come find me when you were ready to let go of Ali."

Emily shook her head lightly. "I don't understand."

"I'll explain everything." Elena promised. "You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

"I don't even know you." Emily said. "Why would I trust you?"

Elena crossed the yard and came to a stop in front of Emily. "Do you trust me, Emily?"

Emily nodded. "I don't know why, but I do."

"Good." Elena smiled. "Go home and have dinner with your family, get some sleep, and tell them you'll be gone for a few days."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"No where really, but it's going to take some time to get you to the point where I can help you let go of Alison." Elena explained. "It's not going to be fun, and it _will_ hurt. There's nothing I can do about that, but if you're really ready to let her go you'll meet me at the Lost Woods Resort tomorrow morning at eight A.M."

Everything that Elena had just said sounded so cryptic and made no sense, but for some reason Emily felt like she had no choice but to trust her. There wasn't one single cell in her body that wanted even vaguely to go back to the Lost Woods Resort, but she found herself nodding in agreement anyway. "Okay."

Emily got in her car and left and Elena went into the barn to have a blood bag before joining everyone else for dinner. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when Stefan stepped out of her closet.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Sorry." He apologized, holding up a blood bag. "I got hungry. Some girl named Emily was here looking for you. She looked totally lost."

She caught the bag he tossed her and joined him on the couch. "She was in love with Alison and couldn't completely get over her. It caused problems between her, and Spencer and I compelled her to come find me when she was ready to make up."

"I thought you had this whole town on vervain."

"I do." She confirmed. "I'm going to have to drain it out of her system. That's why I gave her to chance to change her mind tonight."

Stefan nodded, but didn't say anything else. They finished their blood bags and headed back to the main house where Veronica insisted they all help cook dinner.

Ezra never called, but Elena didn't miss him. It wasn't because she didn't care about him, but because she was having too much fun laughing and cooking with her family. It was like the old days before her parents had died and she happily drank up every second of it.

After dinner she followed Spencer up to her room and shut the door. "I need to talk to you about something."

Spencer looked a little wary, but she nodded and sat down on her bed. "Okay."

"Emily needs my help…" Elena began, but was cut off by Spencer instantly jumping back to her feet. She looked nearly terrified as she demanded to know what was wrong, and Elena wasn't surprised.

Spencer may have been mad at Emily for not being able to completely hate Alison, but she still loved her and was clearly ready to do whatever it took to help her.

"She's okay, Spencer." Elena promised as she eased her cousin back onto the bed and sat down beside her.

She quickly explained how she had compelled Emily to seek her help when she was ready to move on, and waited for the question she knew was coming.

"But she's on vervain, isn't she?" Spencer finally asked.

Elena nodded. "Yes, but if she shows up at the Lost Woods tomorrow morning it means she's really ready to let Alison go."

"So you're just going to wipe her memory clean like Alaric did with you?"

"No." Elena said, almost forcefully. She took a breath and tried again. "No. That was a mistake. I shouldn't have had Alaric erase all my good memories of Damon. What I should've done was have him compel me to move on. That's what I'm going to do with Emily. She'll still have every single memory of Alison, unless she wants me to take them away, but she'll be able to let her go and move on."

"Okay…" Spencer said. "But how can you compel her if she's on vervain?"  
>"I can't." Elena replied. "So I'll either have to wait a few days for it to work its way out of her system or I'll have to drain it out. Draining it will be much faster, but it won't be easier."<p>

Spencer's eyes went wide as she realized exactly what Elena was suggesting. "You want to cut her open and bleed it out of her? Elena, that's crazy! That's _torture_!"

Elena shushed her cousin, afraid Veronica might overhear. "Torture isn't outside the realm of normality for vampires. And I don't _want_ to drain her. I'll let her decide how we do it, but I wanted you to know what might happen."

"Are you going to tell Ezra and Aria about this?" Spencer asked. "They're Emily's friends too."

"Ezra doesn't want to know any more than he needs to know." Elena said. "And Aria's got enough Ali trouble on her plate. I wasn't planning on telling either one of them, but I wasn't going to hide it from them either. If you want to tell them you can, but this is Emily's choice. If she decides she wants to go through with it we will, and if she wants me to drain her I will. I just wanted you to know what's going on because she's doing this for _you_."

Spencer stared at Elena for a long moment. "She's willing to let you bleed the vervain out of her body just so we can make up? No! I forgive her. We can make up right now. She doesn't have to do this!"

"She _wants_ to, Spencer. She's doing it for herself too."

"I want to be there." Spencer practically demanded. "I know Emily well enough to know that she'll probably want you to drain her to get it over with faster. She needs someone there with her, someone she knows."

Elena nodded. "That's fine. Just don't try to talk her out of it."

"I won't." Spencer promised. "I don't want to see her hurting, and if loosing a little blood now will help her get over Ali I'll let her do it. Ali's caused enough pain and suffering in our lives, and she's still at it. If Emily gets dragged back into this mess she doesn't need to have conflicting feelings. I'm with Aria. Ali needs to die. And if any part of Emily is still holding on to hope that she can be saved she'll get in the way without even realizing what she's doing. I won't let Alison break her heart again."

"Neither will I." Elena agreed.

She stayed with Spencer a little while longer and then went back to the barn to call Andrea and run the plan to compel Ali out of Emily's heart by her.

"It'll take a day or two either way, and I need you to promise me you won't hurt her." Elena said. "I'm willing to help you find a way to turn, but you have to help me keep everyone safe."

"I'm human now, Elena." Andrea reminded her. "What can I do if someone tries to kill her while you're out tracking down hallucinations?"

"You know how to kill a vampire." Elena replied. "Spencer will be there to hold Emily's hand if she needs it, and…"

"Great. _Two _humans for me to keep alive."

"And Stefan will be there too." Elena finished. "I'll be there as much as I can, but I need to help Jeremy keep the rest of my family safe and we need to find Mona."

"And what about your little witchy voodoo victim and your handsome blue-eyed beau?"

"Can you please go back to _not_ acting just like Katherine?"

"I wouldn't say I'm _just_ like Kat." Andrea said, her voice contradicting her words. When she continued her voice had taken on the cultured tones of a proper Southern lady again. "However, we are very similar. I do not _want_ to kill you or any of your loved ones. It isn't as fun for me as it is for Katherine, although I won't say I'm completely opposed to killing. I am a vampire after all. But I will do what I have to do to get what I want. And if that means I have to kill Ezra or Jeremy…I will."

Elena clenched her teeth and forced herself to take a breath. "I already agreed to help you, Andrea. I just need you to help me first."

Andrea sighed. "Alright. I'll keep an eye out for any sign of danger while your friends are hiding out here, and I won't hurt them."

"Thank you." Elena said and hung up. "She's just as bad as Katherine."

"So kill her."

Elena spun around at the sound of the unexpected voice. "What are you doing here, Damon? Shouldn't you be with Aria?"

Damon held up his hands in defense, indicating that he was innocent. "I just wanted to come by and say hello. And Aria knows where I am. She's upstairs with Spencer right now."

Elena listened to see if he was telling the truth, even though she knew he didn't really have a reason to lie, and heard Spencer and Aria talking quietly in Spencer's bedroom. Spencer was filling Aria in on what was going on with Emily. Alison had torn these girls away from each other twice now, but they still refused let go. Elena smiled, glad she didn't have a reason to envy their bond. She had the same kind of friendship with Bonnie and Caroline. No matter what came between them, nothing would ever really separate them.

"So…"Damon said, kicking the door shut gently and walking over to sit on the couch. "Why can't you kill the new dopplebitch? She's human, isn't she?"

"Yes, and I'm not Katherine." Elena reminded him. "I don't _like_ killing people."

"Well, I heard you didn't have too much of a problem relieving Katherine of her heart the other day."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Andrea hasn't done anything to me yet. She's only annoyed me and made threats. _Katherine_ ruined all our lives."

"Hey, I'm not saying the bitch didn't deserve it." Damon said. "I was there the last time we killed her. Granted, Stefan was the one that got the pleasure of expelling the evil little squatter out of your body, but I won't say it wasn't fun to watch her finally get what she deserved."

Elena tried hard not to smile as he mimed stabbing Katherine, her, with the Traveler knife. "Well, she's dead now and hopefully we won't ever have to worry about her again. And Andrea's agreed to play nice as long as I help her find a way to turn. She's also agreed to leave me the hell alone once she's a vampire again. How's Aria?"

"Alison's witch reconnected." Damon informed her. "Bonnie and Liv are tracking the connection, and Aria is…better now that she knows she's not really going crazy and that we have a way to fight back, but she's still pretty deep in the woods."

Elena sat down beside him, keeping a little space between them. "I'm sure having you there to support and protect her helps."

He smirked. "Oh, I definitely have my ways of taking her mind off Alison and her magical mental puppet strings."

"Please spare me the details."

"How's Ezra?"

Elena recognized the slightly condescending tone, and smiled knowingly. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

"Me?" Damon asked. "Jealous of a former high school English teacher that got played and tortured by a teenage girl? Not a chance. Why would I be jealous of _Ezra_?"

"Because he has me, and he had Aria."

"Well, _I_ had you until you decided to forget me, and now _I_ have Aria because _he_ couldn't save her." Damon replied in typical Damon fashion and leaned back, folding his arms and resting his head in his hands, a smile spreading across his face that was one hundred percent Damon Salvatore. "No green monsters here. Just an impossibly sexy one."

Elena rolled her eyes and laughed. "You may not be evil anymore, but you're definitely still…Damon."

"Would you want me any other way?" he challenged playfully, flirting because that's who he was. That's who he would always be.

"What makes you think I want you at all?" she asked, playing along as Melissa suddenly busted into the barn. She sat up, instantly noting the mild panic on her cousin's face. "Melissa, what's wrong?"

"It's Aria."

"Ali strikes again." Damon said as he stood, not sounding the least bit concerned. "She's dead, right? How'd she do it this time?"

"I'm not sure." Melissa admitted. "Spencer said she just passed out."

Rage suddenly washed over Damon's face and he clenched his fists. "Psycho Barbie better hope I never find her because I'm gonna kill her."

Elena laid a hand on Damon's arm, a vain attempt at calming him, and looked at Melissa. "Does Veronica know that anything's wrong?"

"I don't know." Melissa said. "Just come on."

Damon and Elena were upstairs in Spencer's bedroom before Melissa could even turn around, leaving her to run back to the house and make sure her mother didn't discover whatever had happened upstairs.

"She's dead." Spencer said, her brown eyes huge and tearful as she held Aria's body in her lap.

"She'll be fine." Damon said. His voice sounded confident, but his eyes betrayed his fear "Her ring will bring her back in a few hours."

Elena had crouched down in the floor with Spencer and picked up Aria's hand to check for the ring without realizing she was doing it. Her heart stopped and she looked up, desperately wishing she didn't have to be the one to say it. But she did. "Damon, she's not wearing her ring."


	21. Chapter 21: New Blood

Chapter 21: New Blood

"_What?_" Damon demanded as Spencer burst into tears and clutched Aria's body tighter. "No! That isn't possible. I made her promise never to take it off!"

Suddenly Spencer was on her feet and standing defiantly in front of Damon, heart broken and angry with tears still streaming down her face. "But you didn't _compel_ her not to take it off! There was _nothing_ standing in the way of Ali's witch convincing her to take off her ring and kill herself! You're supposed to be protecting her, Damon! Now my best friend is _dead_! _Dead!_ Because of _you_."

Elena knew Damon tended to lash out when he was hurt and angry, and she was ready to do whatever she had to do to keep Spencer safe.

But Damon didn't attack her like Elena had expected him to, like he had done so many times when someone accused him of having failed at something. Instead he simply crouched down and gathered Aria into his arms.

"Because of _Ali_. Not me." He corrected and started for the door. "She'll wake up in transition in a couple of hours."

Elena grabbed his shoulder before he could speed off to his car. "What did you do, Damon?"

He stopped and turned back, meeting her gaze. "I fed on her this morning, and gave her a little blood to heal the wounds before we went downstairs for breakfast with the family."

His voice and attitude were normal. His eyes gave nothing away, but Elena knew he was kicking himself for letting this happen.

But even though she knew this she couldn't stop the words as her mouth opened of its own accord. "She was supposed to stay human." Her voice was cold and accusing.

"So were you." He replied.

With that he was gone. Elena heard a car door slam shut out side. A spilt second later, a second door slammed shut. Then they were gone.

Elena turned to Spencer. "He'll tell her parents she fell asleep or isn't feeling well and put her to bed. She'll wake up in a few hours, and she'll have to decide whether to feed or die."

"What if Damon's blood was already out of her system?" Spencer asked through her tears, afraid she had just lost her best friend forever. "What happened? She was fine at first, but then she started slurring and acting like she was drugged, and she just passed out."

"Ali's witch probably made her take off her ring and kill herself. She probably took all of her pills before they left the house." Elena guessed. "It depends how much blood you drank as to how long it takes to get out of your system, and Damon probably only gave her just enough to heal her."

"Would it still be in her system now?" Spencer asked. "It couldn't take that much blood to heal two little bite marks, right?"

Elena nodded. "Right, but it takes several hours for even just a drop of blood to work its way out. If she drank it this morning it should still be in her system. She'll wake up in a few hours, but it's up to her whether she lives or dies."

Spencer sank down on her bed, looking broken and confused.

Elena sat down beside her and put her arm around her. "Caroline told me that she wanted to be a vampire. Apparently she asked Damon and Caroline to turn her a couple of times, but they refused because I asked them to make sure she stayed human. They didn't want her to be a vampire anymore than I did, but if she really wanted it she'll feed and she'll be fine. We'll help her through her transition and everything will be fine."

"I _hate_ Ali." Spencer said. "Why couldn't she just let it go? We beat her. She lost. But she's Ali and she can't be anything less than better than everyone else. She couldn't stand the fact that she lost her control over us, that we stood up to her and managed to put her in her place. She still has to prove that she can screw with us even from inside a prison. But she's wrong."

Elena was startled by the cold, hard determination, mixed with pure hatred and a need for revenge, that showed in Spencer's brown eyes.

"Ali's going to die for this." Spencer said vehemently, but calmly at the same time.

Elena recognized herself in her cousin. The look on Spencer's face that matched the mood radiating off her body was exactly what Elena had felt when she had decided to channel her anger toward killing Katherine. Alison didn't stand a chance.

"Karma's a bitch." Elena said as she slipped her other arm around Spencer and hugged her close.

Spencer leaned into her, accepting and seeking the comforting embrace, returning it, but remaining sober. Her tears had stopped, and Elena suspected she wouldn't shed another until Ali drew her last breath.

%%%

Damon had lucked out when he had arrived back at the Montgomery house. Byron was at some Hollis faculty party, Ella had taken Laurel to a birthday party and then gone to meet her husband at the adult party, and Mike and Piper were out on a date. The house was dark and empty and he had breathed a sigh of relief when he had found the note on the table. No excuses or explanations were necessary, so he had simply carried Aria upstairs and put her in bed, and was now waiting for her to wake up.

It was almost five in the morning and everyone else was in bed asleep when Aria finally sat up gasping for air.

"It's about time." He teased, trying to hide the fact that he was immensely relieved that she had come back to life.

She took a minute to calm down and then pushed her hair out of her face, looking at him with wide eyes that were still a little scared. "I died again?"

"Yep." He said and held up her ring. "But you weren't wearing this."

Aria snatched the ring from his fingers and stared at it. Her gaze wandered back up to meet his. "But…if I wasn't wearing my ring…I'm…"

"In transition." He finished. "Do you remember what happened? Because you were fine when we got to Spencer's. I was out in the barn talking to Elena when Mere…Melissa busted in and informed us that you were dead…again. Spencer said you had been acting fine and then you started slurring your words and passed out. By the time we got there you were gone. I found your empty pill bottle when I brought you home, but why did you take off your ring?"

"I don't remember taking off my ring or taking the pills." She said, shaking her head. "I don't even remember being at Spencer's house. Ali's witch must've made me take off my ring and overdose. I guess they wiped my memory too. I usually remember what happened before I died."

Damon reached out and stroked her cheek. "All that matters right now is that you didn't _stay_ dead. You didn't have a lot of my blood in your system, and I was so afraid you wouldn't come back. Spencer was falling apart when we left, and I'm pretty sure she and Elena both are pissed at me for letting this happen."

"You didn't _let_ this happen, Damon." She argued. "It was Ali. It's _always_ Ali."

Damon picked up his phone and sent a text to both Spencer and Elena letting them know that Aria was in transition. "Well, you wanted to be a vampire so you could kill her. Looks like you got your wish."

"I didn't want it this way." She said quietly. "Ali was trying to kill me. If I hadn't let you feed on me and then drank your blood I would be dead right now. _Really_ dead. Your blood turned me, but Ali forced me into it."

_Thank god! _Spencer replied.

_Is she going to complete the transition?_ Elena asked.

Damon realized that Spencer assumed Aria had already decided to complete the transition. He had no doubt that Elena had told her that Aria had practically begged to be turned, so of course she would assume she still wanted to be a vampire. But based on what she had just said Damon wasn't so sure she hadn't changed her mind. Apparently Elena understood that possibility without having heard the conversation. Then again, Elena knew from personal experience what a difficult situation it was to have only twenty-four hours to decide if you wanted to live forever as a blood-sucking, highly emotional, undead creature with a secret you had to hide forever, and risk dragging your loved ones into dangerous supernatural situations, or die.

No one wanted Aria to die, but it was her choice to make and he wasn't about to force her hand. The choice had been taken away from him and it had ruined his relationship with his brother for decades.

"Do you still want to be a vampire even though Ali forced you?" he asked. "You have time to decide, but you _do_ need to make up your mind."

She was silent for a while and then finally looked up at him with tears shining in her eyes. "I wanted it, Damon. I wouldn't have asked you to turn me if I hadn't, but now I'm not so sure. I thought I was done with secrets and lies, and that once Ali was dead I would never have to live in fear of someone finding out what I'm hiding, or accidentally saying something I shouldn't. But now…I don't know."

"You didn't mind keeping my secret."

"That was because I didn't think this would really turn into anything." She admitted. "I thought I would stay with you until I finished school, and then I would be able to come back here and be okay."

"But it _did_ turn into something more."

"I know, and I was trying to figure out if I really wanted to stay with you knowing that I couldn't tell my family the truth, knowing that eventually I'd either have to let you go or completely leave my family behind so they wouldn't wonder why you weren't getting any older." She explained.

"You could tell them the truth."

"I tried that once, and it blew up in my face." She said.

"Aria, this isn't the same as you and Ezra."

"I know that, Damon, but you're a _vampire_! It took my family forever to come around to the idea of Ezra and I together because he had been my teacher. Even though he wasn't when we met, and he wasn't when we told them. Dating your teacher is only leads to jail time. Dating a vampire is a death sentence."

He started to argue, but she had a point. Tatia had fallen in love with Elijah and he had killed her. Katherine had turned herself into a vampire after learning why Klaus was really interested in her while she was with both brothers. He and Stefan had both been killed and turned because of their love for Katherine. He and Stefan were the reason Elena was a vampire. Stefan had killed Andie because Damon had cared for her. And now Aria was literally in a life or death situation because she had decided to put her trust in him and had inadvertently fallen in love.

"What do I do?" she asked, looking helpless and afraid.

Damon sighed and pulled her into his arms. "I want you to complete the transition, but I can't make the choice for you. I was okay with dying, but Stefan forced me to feed and I ended up hating him for over a century. I won't risk having you hate me."

%%%

Spencer had decided to stay home. After what happened with Aria last night she couldn't sit there and watch Elena bleed the vervain out of Emily's body. Elena understood but had reminded her that there were two options. However, Spencer had been certain which one Emily would choose, and Elena wasn't surprised when she was right.

Andrea was sitting on the dresser filing her nails and Stefan was checking the other rooms to make sure they were still the only ones in the abandoned motel. Emily, who was creeped out about being back here and a little scared of what she was about to do, was sitting in a chair waiting for Elena to finish strapping her down.

"Are you absolutely certain this is what you want?" Elena asked. "I don't have anything to numb the pain, and I can't compel you not to feel it until it's over."

"You said it could take a week to let the vervain work its way out of my system." Emily said. "I don't want to wait a week. I want Ali gone, and I want Spencer back. _Now._ If this is the quickest way to reach that goal, then this is what I want."

"Okay." Elena said as she finished tying Emily in place. "You can always change your mind."

"Wait." Emily said as the door opened and Stefan came back in. "You said Ali had a witch that had some sort of magical connection to Aria and was making her hallucinate. Is there any way to connect me to Ali so she can feel what I feel? So she can feel the pain I'm choosing to put myself through so I can get rid of her?"

Elena and Stefan exchanged a glance and then looked back at Emily. Neither of them knew her well, but they had both heard enough about her to know that the desire to make someone suffer, even Ali, wasn't like her.

"Probably." Stefan said. "But we would need a witch and Ali's DNA."

"And we don't have a witch." Andrea said from her perch. "Or Ali's DNA."

Elena shot her a look and turned back to Emily. "We could get them, but it would only postpone everything. But if that's really what you want tell us where to find Ali's DNA and I'll call Bonnie."

An almost hateful look came over Emily's face. "Ali tortured us for years. If anyone deserves to suffer it's her. Call Bonnie. We can get Ali's DNA. Would you prefer hair or blood?"

Stefan stood with his arms folded over his chest and his eyebrows raised in surprise as Elena untied their willing hostage. "Blood would be better, but how are you going to get it? Sneak into her hospital room and steal it?"

"She has a brother." Emily replied. "He's her half brother, but he's got half the same blood."

"Jason." Elena explained to Stefan, who had met Spencer and Melissa's brother when he and Alaric had been here. She turned her attention back to Emily. "How are you going to get Jason's blood? It would be a lot easier to just steal her hairbrush."

"Ali's been locked up for a while." Stefan said. "I doubt they still have her room the way it was when she was home."

Emily stood up and rubbed at her wrist where Elena had had the rope tied a little too tight. "If her mother was still alive it would be, but Jason has all her stuff packed up in boxes in a storage unit. Mr. DiLaurentis wouldn't let him sell it or throw it away, so they're wasting money storing it. If a piece of her hair will work Spencer and I can break in and find her hairbrush."

"Kat told me what a good girl you are, Elena." Andrea said. "And you too, Stefan, and yet here you both are plotting the best way to torture someone. I guess everyone has a dark side."

"Alison deserves a little pain after what she did to this town." Emily said. "She broke my heart twice, and that's probably the least of her sins. Murder, arson, stalking, attempted vehicular homicide, bullying, psychological damage, physical damage, breaking up marriages. And all of this was just some twisted game to her. Playing with us like we were dolls, and ruining our lives for fun. Being locked up in a mental hospital is way better than what she deserves. You all want to kill her, but death isn't even enough punishment in my opinion. And yet part of me just can't stop loving her."

Andrea looked impressed, but she didn't say anything. Instead she just went back to perfecting her manicure.

"So you really want to do this?" Stefan asked.

Emily nodded. "Yes."

"In that case we better get going." He opened the door and gestured for Elena and Emily to exit the room. "We have a witch to call and a hairbrush to steal."

"Am I still confined to this dragged out hoosegow while you all take French leave to steal a hairbrush, or do you trust me enough to let me out so I can hang around this grand little burg of yours?" Andrea asked, sounding suddenly like she had just stepped out of a western novel.

Stefan, Elena, and Emily all stared at her, trying to decipher what she had said.

She smiled. "I wasn't just a proper Southern lady. After I met Kat and saved myself from becoming a hybrid sacrifice I abandoned my husband and my son and went out west to become a dance hall girl."

"I didn't understand half of what you said, but I think you were asking to be let out." Elena said. "And the answer to that question is no. The only place you're going to 'hang around' is this room."

Andrea shrugged. "Well, I reckoned it was worth a try."

Without another word Elena took Emily's arm and led her outside. Stefan followed, shutting the door behind him.

"Just think, Stefan." Elena said with a laugh. "You could've had Annie Oakley in there instead of Vampira. She _is_ the one you were supposed to end up with after all."

He opened the passenger side door and climbed into her car. "Katherine doesn't look quite so bad now. At least I could understand what she was saying."

Elena buckled up out of habit. "She's getting to be so annoying that I'm starting to wish I had killed her instead of Katherine. I hate Katherine, but at least she wasn't Scarlett O'Hara and Calamity Jane all rolled into one bitchy doppelganger. She was just the bitchy doppelganger. Andrea's going to drive me crazy."

"How do you know she'll stay here?" Emily asked from the back seat.

"I compelled her not to leave that room until I say she can." Elena said. "She's not on vervain."

"I'll call Damon and have him and Aria meet us at Spencer's." Stefan said. "Veronica's still at work, right?"

"She shouldn't be home until late tonight." Elena confirmed and dialed Bonnie's number into her own phone. "I'll let Bonnie know what's going on."

Emily listened to half of two conversations as she sat in the back seat, wondering why none of this vampire stuff was freaking her out. Maybe everything that had happened with A and Ali had made her immune to shocking, unbelievable news.

"Damon and Aria are leaving for Spencer's right now." Stefan announced after hanging up.

Emily leaned forward. "Is Aria…okay?"

"Damon said she hasn't decided if she's going to complete the transition yet." Stefan said honestly. There was no sense in sugar-coating it.

"Should she be running around town breaking into storage units?" Emily asked.

"She's got twenty-four hours before she dies." Elena explained. "She's in transition right now which means, her senses are becoming more heightened, she'll be developing fangs, and eventually she'll start craving blood. If she feeds she'll be a vampire. If she doesn't she'll die."

"Is that all there is too it? Just drink some blood and you're good to go?"

"Not exactly." Stefan said. "That's the basic idea, but it'll probably be difficult for her to adjust to being a vampire. The hearing and strength and speed are easy to figure out. Compulsion and feeding shouldn't be too hard, but along with all her physical senses being magnified her emotions will be too. Elena and I both had problems with feeding, but it was for very different reasons."

"Stefan didn't know when to stop so he ripped people's heads off." Elena said casually. "I had this problem where I had to do whatever Damon told me to do because I was in love with him when…"

"When what?" Emily prompted when Elena stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"When she turned." Stefan finished. "Elena, what's wrong?"

"If Aria completes the transition she'll be sired to Damon too." Elena explained. "Just like I was. She's in love with him."

"Great." Stefan groaned.

Emily was lost again, but she didn't ask to be caught up. There was too much information in her brain that she was still trying to process. Such as the fact that she was in a car right now with two vampires, on their way to hatch a plan to steal Ali's hairbrush so a witch could use it to link her to Ali so that Ali would feel every cut Elena made while she drained the vervain out of her body so she could compel her to stop loving Ali.

Her parents had come around to her being gay and supported and embraced who she was, but she wondered what they would do if she ended up being turned into a vampire. Would they eventually come around to that too, and support and embrace the fact that she might loose control and eat them, or would her mother stake her with a wooden spoon?

She didn't really want to find out. Aria becoming a vampire was more than enough. She made a promise to herself that no matter what she would _not_ end up undead.

%%%

"Aria, you have to do it." Spencer whispered as they sat on the steps waiting for Elena, Stefan, and Emily to arrive. Melissa and Jeremy were in the kitchen using Melissa's laptop to try and figure out where Mona might be holed up at based on what they knew of her past hideouts, and Damon was standing at the back door watching the world outside. Spencer knew he could hear her if he wanted to even though she was barely making a sound.

Aria adjusted the sunglasses she wore against the light that was suddenly too bright for her now highly sensitive eyes, and wondered how she was ever going to get used to being a vampire if she completed the transition. There was almost no way Spencer could even hear herself speaking right now, but Aria could hear her as if she were speaking normally. The volume on the world had suddenly been turned up, and the light was almost blinding. She was acutely aware of even the lightest touch, and it seemed like she could feel more than just the warmth from the sunlight. Scents were stronger than ever, and colors were brilliantly vivid. Everything was the same as it had been yesterday, but she felt like she was in a completely different world.

She felt every emotion deeper as well. On the drive over to Spencer's she had glanced over at Damon and had been almost certain her heart was literally about to explode with love. Since arriving at the Hastings house her teeth had begun to ache where her fangs would be if she fed, and she had suddenly realized that not only could she _feel_ her own blood rushing through her veins, but she could _smell_ everyone else's. Spencer, Jeremy, and Melissa all smelled like vervain as if they had soaked in it for months and it was now a permanent part of their genetic makeup. Combined with everything else it was giving her one doozey of a headache that she was somehow managing to ignore. Melissa had given her a small handful of pain killers, but they had done nothing because she was no longer technically living. As she had managed to swallow them dry, because every drink in the house was spiked with vervain, Damon had told her that she was wasting her time. The only thing that would help was human blood.

"Elena's got a stash of blood bags out in the garage." Spencer urged almost silently. "I can go grab one for you if you want."

Damon kept his eyes on the yard outside. "Stop pushing her, Spencer."

Spencer glared at his back, annoyed by his singsong tone. "I'm sorry, Damon, but I don't want my best friend to die."

This time he did turn around. "I don't want her to die either, but we can't choose for her. Do you have any idea what it feels like when someone takes away your choice and forces you to turn? It sucks."

The door opened and Elena came in followed by Emily and Stefan.

Emily's eyes instantly spotted Aria across the room and she rushed forward. "Aria!"

Aria winced. "Don't yell, Em. My head feels like it's about to explode."

"You haven't fed yet." Stefan guessed.

Aria shook her head. "It's a harder decision than I thought it would be."

"If she does decide to complete the transition you need to be very careful about what you say, Damon." Elena warned him.

"Why?" he asked, giving her a look that said her warning made no sense.

"The sire bond?" Elena reminded him. "Don't you remember what we went through with me?"

"Sire bond?" Damon looked at Aria. "Damn it. Why did you have to go and fall in love with me?"

"Don't blame me!" Aria said, teasing even though she felt miserable. "I told you yesterday that you made me do it."

Damon smiled and shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to deal with it until we figure out a better way to break the bond. If you turn. And I'll try my best to watch what I say, but I'm not making any promises."

Aria looked around the room at all these people she cared so much about and suddenly her mind was made up. She had wanted to be a vampire, but once she realized she was only one step away from that wish the idea had terrified her. But now she didn't know how she could choose_ not_ to complete the transition, and not only end her own life and let Ali win, but force her friends and family to go through the pain of loosing her. Some of them didn't even have a clue what was going on.

"Will a blood bag work, or does it have to be from the vein?" she asked.

Damon grinned and Spencer jumped up and hugged her hard.

"Ow!" she yelped, regretting her volume immediately. "Spence, that hurts."

Spencer let go and quickly took a step back. "Sorry. I forgot."

"Are you _sure_ you want this?" Elena asked.

Aria nodded. "If I change my mind I'll just stake myself."

Elena giggled and disappeared. Seconds later she was back and handing Aria a blood bag. She had more for herself, Damon, and Stefan as well. "Wait." She said when Aria started to put the bag to her lips. "We're celebrating."

Melissa was already taking wine glasses out of the cabinet. She retrieved enough for everyone and smiled as Spencer popped the cork on a bottle of Merlot.

Spencer smiled as she began pouring and spoke softly. "I think red wine will go well with blood bags."

Once everyone had a glass or bag in hand they all gathered in the living room and toasted Aria's transition.

As soon as the first drop touched her tongue Aria felt veins emerge under her eyes, and her brand new fangs came in. She hadn't realized she had been craving blood all morning, but suddenly she couldn't get enough. She drained the bag quickly, managing to somehow suck out every last drop. When she was done the only thing that distinguished the bag in her hand from a fresh one that had never seen a drop of blood was the fact that it was wrinkled where she had gripped it and there were bite marks in the plastic.

When she took the glass Damon handed her, smiling as her fingers brushed his, she realized the world was once again different. As she sipped the wine she realized nothing had actually changed. Everything was just as bright and vibrant as it had been moments ago, but now it felt normal and she didn't hurt anymore. In fact she felt great!

She wanted to try out all her new supernatural tricks, but now wasn't the time for playing. Now was the time for plotting and planning.


	22. Chapter 22: Consequences

**I apologize in advance to and Toby lovers that may be reading this. Trust me. I absolutely adore Toby, and Spoby, and I would NOT have done this if it hadn't been necessary to get the story where I need it to go.**

Chapter 22: Consequences

"I feel like we're stalking A again." Emily said as she sat in the back of Spencer's car, which was finally running again thanks to Stefan.

"We kind of are." Aria said.

"Just like the good old days." Spencer commented sarcastically.

"Except I'm a vampire and we're missing Hanna." Aria pointed out.

Spencer smiled. "Who's going to say something stupid while we're sneaking into the storage unit?"

Emily and Aria giggled as Caroline came out of the Brew with their drinks and started across the street. A car whose driver wasn't paying attention slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting her and Emily and Spencer gasped at the close call. Aria wasn't worried about Caroline, who had darted out of the way in time without spilling a single drop. Had there been a collision the car probably would've sustained more damage than Caroline.

"How did she do that?" Emily asked, because Caroline should've been sprawled in the middle of the street right now.

"She's a vampire." Aria reminded her. "We have amazing reflexes."

"I'm never going to get used to you being a vampire." Spencer said.

"Imagine how I feel."

The back door opened and Caroline slid into the car. She passed out to-go cups and buckled her seat belt as Spencer pulled away from the curb and headed to where the DiLaurentis storage unit was located.

All four were dressed in comfortable, dark colored clothes that would allow them to be less visible as they snuck into the storage facility and move easier if they had to run.

"I know why Bonnie's here, but why are you here, Care?" Aria asked from the front seat.

"Because I miss Elena and I was worried about you."

Aria smiled and sipped her tea. "I'm fine, Caroline. I haven't killed anyone yet, and no one that isn't supposed to knows I'm a vampire."

"Have you fed yet?" Caroline asked. "From the vein?"

"Everyone in Rosewood is full of vervain." Aria said. "Except Andrea, and Elena keeps suggesting I snack on her. I think she's hoping I'm a ripper and I'll kill her."

Caroline smiled and managed not to laugh. She hadn't met Andrea yet, but from what she had heard about her everyone would rather have Katherine back. "What about the sire bond?"

"Damon hasn't caused any trouble with it, but he's definitely using it to his advantage."

"Please spare me the details." Caroline said. "I don't even want to imagine."

Aria grinned. "I'm sure you have some idea since he compelled you to be his girlfriend or whatever you were."

"You dated Damon too?" Emily asked.

Caroline laughed. "_Everyone_'s dated Damon."

"That's not true." Aria argued. "He may be a man whore, but you've been with more of our friends than he has."

"No."

"He's dated you, Elena, and me." Aria said, defending her point. "You've dated Damon, Matt, and Tyler. You slept with Klaus, and there's that flirty thing you and Enzo have going."

"Well, that's pretty much my entire romantic history." Caroline said. "Aside from me, you, and Elena there was Katherine, Isobel, Andie, Rose, Rebekah, and who knows how many others over the decades."

"Like I said, man whore."

Spencer smiled. She had been jealous of Caroline and Bonnie when Aria had first moved to Whitmore, but she liked them and she was glad that Aria had them. "What does _your_ romantic history look like, Aria?" she asked, teasing.

"Ezra." Emily answered for Aria.

"And Jake." Aria added. "And Noel, and Jason, and a couple of guys in Iceland. Wes kissed me, and Sean sort of hit on me. And there was that one night stand with Riley after I found out about Ezra's book."

"You never dated Jason." Spencer argued.

"No, but there was definitely a spark between us for a little while, and he kissed me." Aria corrected. "Even without Jason I still beat you in the romance department, Spence."

"Alex, Wren, Toby…" Spencer said. "Yep. That's all I got."

"Andrew." Emily reminded her. "I don't care if you never even had a dirty thought about him. I caught you playing strip trivia with him. He was practically naked when I walked in."

"Strip _trivia_?" Caroline asked.

"Spencer's the only person I know that would have a dirty study session." Aria teased.

"Um," Caroline objected from behind her, leaning forward. "You know Damon. And Enzo. I guarantee you both of them would have a dirty study session."

"True." Aria admitted. "Wait. Does it count if I'm studying and Damon walks in naked? Because that's happened."

"That's not a dirty study session." Caroline said. "That's just Damon. Ask Elena about the first time she saw him naked. And I've told you about the time he walked in on me in a towel."

"I don't think I want to know about the first time Elena saw him naked." Aria said. "That would be like me telling her about the first time Ezra and I had sex."

"Not even close."

"Not even close as in…what?" Aria asked, hoping she wasn't about to regret her question.

"They were trying to track down Stefan after Klaus compelled him, and she had a new lead." Caroline explained. "She let herself into the house and there was Damon in all his…Damon-ness."

Spencer and Emily giggled at the story, neither one of them surprised since they had both spent time with him. Aria simply smiled. She knew exactly what Elena had seen.

%%%

"Which one of you wants to break the lock?" Spencer asked, directing her question to Aria and Caroline.

"Aria." Caroline replied, pointing her flashlight at her former roommate. "She's the newbie vamp that needs practice."

"I don't think I really need practice breaking into storage units, Caroline." Aria said as she handed her flashlight to Emily.

Caroline turned her flashlight off. "No, but you need to learn how to control your strength and get used to using your night vision."

Aria sighed. "Okay. Turn the lights out. Which one is it, Spence?"

"Five-A." Spencer replied.

Aria and Emily stopped and looked at her.

"You're kidding, right?" Emily asked.

Spencer shook her head in the dark. "No. I don't think they did it on purpose, but I would've asked for a different unit."

They formed a human chain since it was nearly pitch black inside the building and Spencer and Emily couldn't see in the dark. Aria led the way, using her heightened vampire vision to read the numbers above the garage doors on the units. When they got to unit five she let go of Emily's hand and grabbed hold of the generic padlock Kenneth DiLaurentis had bought to protect Ali's things. She pulled hard and fast and it came off with a loud wrenching sound of breaking metal. She stuffed the broken lock in the pocket of her ironically black hoodie and crouched down to grab hold of the handle at the bottom of the door. She pulled it up about two feet and then pushed it the rest of the way. She pushed a little too hard though and it crashed against the back wall of the unit and bounced back, making another loud racket.

"Aria!" Spencer hissed. "You're gonna get us caught!"

Caroline caught the door as it came down and eased it up. "See? You need practice. You've only been a vampire for two days."

Aria stepped into the unit and found the chain for the over head light. She turned it on and Spencer and Emily joined her inside.

"Remember to listen, Aria." Caroline reminded her. "I'm going back outside. I'll let you know if anyone's coming."

Aria nodded and Caroline pulled the door back down, shutting them inside the unit just in case someone managed to get by her and into the building.

Aria imagined a black-gloved hand slipping a screw driver through the lock to trap them inside while gas seeped in from a tube under the door. It was exactly the kind of thing A would do. Actually it was exactly the kind of thing A _had_ done when she had locked Emily in a barn with a running car. But A was gone and even if someone did try something like that they wouldn't be trapped for long. This time she would be capable of easily rescuing her friends before anyone could get hurt.

The furniture was piled up at the back, including Ali's mattress, but it wasn't only Ali's things. Apparently this unit wasn't reserved for Ali alone. For some reason that made Aria feel better. She wasn't special enough to warrant her very own unit. She had to share one with the rest of the family junk.

There were stacks of boxes lined up neatly in front of the furniture and it all took up about three fourths of the space. It wasn't a large unit and they didn't have a lot of space to work, but Aria had the advantage of easily getting into the back of the unit and sitting on Ali's dresser to go through the boxes in back while Spencer and Emily worked up front.

"What if they cleaned her brush before packing it up?" Spencer asked.

"Then we'll figure something else out." Emily replied.

"You really want her to suffer, don't you Em?" Aria said as she pulled up a box and opened it. It was full of clothes. A sweater on top looked familiar and she picked it up and unfolded it. "That bitch stole my sweater!"

"She deserves a little payback." Emily said.

Aria looked up. "She deserves to die. I can't wait to rip her heart out."

"Don't do it quickly." Spencer said.

Emily clamped her mouth shut against the words of defense that tried to escape. She didn't want to defend Ali anymore. Ali didn't deserve it. She deserved to have Aria rip her heart out. Slowly.

"So," Caroline said from her post outside. "Is Stefan ever coming back home, or is he going to stay in Rosewood until all of this is over."

Aria, of course, was the only one that could hear her and chuckled as she shook her head. She knew Caroline still had feelings for Stefan even though she denied it.

"What's so funny?" Spencer asked.

"Caroline." Aria replied. "Care, Ivy's gone. Why don't you just ask him out? Stop torturing yourself."

"I'm not torturing myself." Caroline argued. "I'm over him. I was just curious."

"You didn't ask if Jeremy was coming home." Aria pointed out.

"Fine." Caroline huffed. "Are Stefan _and Jeremy _coming home anytime soon, or are they staying here until this is all over? And what about you and Damon? I doubt he really wants to spend a ton of time at your parents' house."

Aria dug through more clothes, looking for strands of hair or blood stains that could be used in Bonnie's linking spell. "I don't know what Stefan and Jeremy's plans are, and Damon doesn't seem to mind hanging out with my family too much. I wouldn't mind going home though. My bed squeaks too much."

"TMI, Aria!" Spencer said.

Aria smiled, thinking that maybe she had spent too much time with Damon and Enzo.

"So you'd rather be in a house full of vampires that can hear _everything_?" Caroline teased. "And did you just call Mystic Falls home? When did that happen?"

Emily looked up. "Wait. Did you just call Whitmore home?"

Aria laughed. "I don't live at Whitmore anymore. I dropped out and moved in with Damon and Stefan in Mystic Falls."

"So you just called Mystic Falls home?" Spencer said. "What about Rosewood? Are you leaving us for good?"

Aria shrugged. "I don't know. I feel safe there."

"You died there." Spencer reminded her.

"More than once."

"Aria, someone's out here." Caroline whispered. "More than one someone."

"Spence, Em, stay here." Aria cautioned.

Spencer and Emily were instantly on alert, and felt a breeze as Aria disappeared to investigate whatever had alarmed her.

"This is private property." A familiar voice said as Aria stepped quietly out of the building. It was Toby. They were safe.

"I'm sorry." Caroline said. "I just _really_ needed something very important out of my unit. It can't wait."

The beam of Toby's flashlight illuminated Caroline as his partner, an officer named Jay, swept the surrounding area with his light to make sure there were no other trespassers. Aria stepped out from the shadows and smiled at Toby.

"It's okay, Toby." She said as Jay's beam landed on her. "She's with me."

"Wait. You know him?" Caroline asked.

Aria nodded.

"Aria, what are you doing here?" Toby asked. "Someone tripped the alarm and we got a call about burglars."

"Like she said," Aria replied, hating having to lie to her friend. "We needed to get something and it couldn't wait."

"What do you have in storage that's so important it can't wait until normal business hours?" Jay demanded.

Toby gestured with his hand, telling his partner to ease up a little, and kept his attention on Aria. "Well, Aria? You have to know that this looks really bad."

Aria sighed. She had lied so many times and to so many people over the years that it would be easy to do so now if she could come up with something that really would have warranted a late night break-in. And if it wasn't Toby. Emily was right. Lying to Toby was like lying to the Dali Lama. She just couldn't do it.

"A hairbrush." She admitted.

Toby looked so disappointed. "Aria, we're going to have to bring you in for questioning. A hairbrush could've waited until tomorrow. What are you really doing here?"

"We really are here for a hairbrush, Toby." She promised. "I swear I'm not lying to you. You know me better than that."

Toby looked like it actually physically hurt him to have to take out his handcuffs. "Yeah, and I know how good you are at lying. I'm sorry to have to do this, but you're both going to have to come with us."

_What if we get caught? _Aria had asked Damon earlier that day. _It's been a while since we've done something like this._

_ If anyone tries to stop you just stop them from stopping you._ Damon had replied. _A little snap of the neck and you're good to go._

The words played out in her head, and she realized the mistake Damon had made after it was already too late.

"Aria!" Caroline exclaimed in shock. "What the hell?"

Aria looked at what she had done. Both Toby and Jay lay on the ground, their necks broken and their bodies lifeless. Her hand came up to cover her mouth and she instantly began to cry as she stared at Toby. She couldn't believe she had just killed her friend.

"Oh my god! Toby!" Spencer screamed as she came out of the building and saw him on the ground at Aria's feet. She immediately figured out who the guilty vampire was. "Aria, what did you _do?_"

Aria, Spencer, and Emily were all crying over Toby, and Caroline was crying for Aria. She knelt down beside her friend and pulled her into her arms, holding her tightly as Emily did the same for Spencer.

Spencer glared at Aria through her tears. "Why? Why did you kill him, Aria?"

"Spencer, I…" Aria trailed off realizing that there was no apology in the world that could make up for what she had just done. "It was the sire bond." She heaved a couple of shaky breaths as tears rained down four distraught and heartbroken faces. She was in shock. "I was worried about getting caught, and Damon told me that if anyone tried to stop us that I should stop them. Spencer, I didn't mean to. I would _never_ hurt Toby. You know that. You know I love him. It…it was the sire bond." She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at Spencer, unable to look away from the look of pure pain on her friend's face.

Suddenly Spencer stopped crying as Aria's words sank in, and she went completely still in Emily's arms. "You did this because _Damon_ told you to? Toby's dead because of _Damon!_"

"_No!_" Aria said forcefully, and she would have lunged at Spencer if Caroline hadn't been holding her back. "No. Damon didn't do this! This isn't his fault!"

"He told you to stop anyone that got in your way!" Spencer shouted back. "And now Toby's dead! Because of _Damon!_ I swear, Aria, the next time I see him…"

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him, Spencer." Aria said protectively. "Damon didn't do this. I did this. If you want to kill someone, kill me."

"Stop it!" Emily yelled. "Both of you! This wasn't your fault, Aria, and it wasn't Damon's fault either. It was Alison. _Ali_ did this."

Spencer and Aria stared at each other, both looking a little confused at Emily's words.

"She's right." Caroline said. "There wouldn't even _be_ a sire bond if Ali hadn't caused Aria to turn."

"She wouldn't have turned if she hadn't fallen in love with Damon." Spencer argued, wanting desperately to pin the blame on someone she could actually punish, and since Ali wasn't here Damon was her target. "She left Rosewood and she fell in love with him, and she died with _his_ blood in her system because she trusted him enough to let him feed on her. She trusted him even though she knows everything he's done, all the people he's killed. He's a _monster_, Aria!"

"_No!_" Aria screamed again, and this time Caroline wasn't able to hold her back.

Aria lunged and knocked both Spencer and Emily to the ground. Spencer fought back, managing to flip Aria off of her as she tried desperately to find some piece of wood lying on the ground. But there were no sticks to be found, and she screamed in fright as found herself on the bottom again and Aria's face changed as she grabbed hold of a handful of hair. She jerked Spencer's head to the side and was about to sink her fangs into her best friend's vervain-filled neck when Caroline snapped her neck from behind. Aria went limp and Spencer struggled out from underneath her, scrambling across the pavement and back into Emily's waiting arms.

Both women were crying again as Caroline crouched in front of them. "Spencer, this _is_ Alison's fault, and you know we're right. _Please_ don't do anything stupid. You don't stand a chance against Damon. I've known him for a long time, and I know him well enough to know that he probably didn't realize what he had said. Sire bonds are tricky and dangerous, and no matter how careful you are not to invoke it like this it's hard not to. Aria was nervous about tonight, and he was only trying to help calm her down. This was an accident, and you know it all leads back to Alison. Aria never would've left Rosewood if Ali hadn't been messing with her mind."

Spencer looked from Aria's body to Toby's and then buried her face against Emily's shoulder.

"She'll pay for this, Spencer." Emily promised. "We found the brush, and no one cleaned it. Alison will pay for _everything_ she's done to us."

Caroline met Emily's gaze as she reached out and stroked Spencer's hair. Aria had told her that Emily had once been the sweet one of their group, but there was nothing sweet about her right now. Right now every fiber of Emily's body radiated with a desire for revenge, and Caroline was suddenly reminded of Tyler's obsession with killing Klaus. Ali had taken everything from these girls. She had ruined their lives and hurt them in every way possible. And now she was going to have to deal with a whopping amount of supernatural karma.


	23. Chapter 23: I'm Still Here, Bitches

Chapter 23: I'm Still Here, Bitches

Toby Cavanaugh had a large turn-out at his funeral.

Jay Morgan had had quite the crowd as well, but only out of respect for a fallen police officer. He had been new in town and no one but Toby had really known him.

Toby, however, had been loved by pretty much everyone in Rosewood. The entire Hastings family had been there, as well as the Montgomerys, Fields, and Marins. Even Kate and Isabel had shown up to support Hanna. Hanna and Caleb had come back from New York after Matt had filled them in, and Matt, Enzo, and Noel had come with them. Stefan and Damon were there as well as Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, and Elena. Toby's dad and stepmom had been there to thank everyone for their support and love, and even Jason, Mr. DiLaurentis, and Leona Vanderwaal had come. Ezra was there, and so was Paige, who had managed to fly back from California for a few days. Andrea had wanted to come since she was now caught up in the whole Ali mess by proxy, but hadn't been allowed for obvious reasons. Alaric had also wanted to come, but hadn't been able to leave Whitmore at the time so had sent flowers instead, with a card that was also signed by Tyler, Liv, and Luke, and had spent over two hours on the phone with Aria making sure she was okay. Spencer wasn't sure, but she thought she had even seen Mona lurking outside the church in the bushes. Pastor Ted had given a beautiful, tear-filled service and Spencer had kept her distance from Aria and Damon simply because she didn't want to do or say anything she'd regret while she was still fighting the urge to throw herself into Toby's grave like Ashley Wilkes in _Scarlett_.

The entire town of Rosewood, and many from other towns in the area, was saddened by the loss of two young officers. Caleb had even received calls from his friends in Ravenswood when they had heard the news.

Spencer wasn't sure how, but somehow Elena had managed to cover up the fact that Toby and Jay had accidentally been murdered by compelling the medical examiner to say they had been killed in a line-off-duty accident. It hurt her to know that no one outside of their admittedly large group would know the truth of what had happened, but she also didn't want Aria to be thrown in prison for the rest of her life, which would be a very long one now. At the moment the only reason she didn't want anything to happen to Damon was because she knew it would destroy several of her friends, new and old. He may be a monster, but he was a much loved monster.

He was approaching her now, walking across the cemetery in his well-fitted black suit, with a look of caution and sadness on his face.

During the days since the accident Spencer had wondered what Elena and Aria had ever seen in him that had made them want to give him a chance, but looking at him now she was forced to admit that it would be hard not to give someone that looked like that a chance. And she had spent some time with him and knew that despite the fact that he had done terrible things in the past he was a fairly decent guy. Even if he was the snarkiest, cockiest, most sarcastic drunk she had ever met.

"I'm sorry, Spencer." He said when he stopped a few feet away from her.

She could see in his eyes that he was being sincere, that he truly was sorry for what had happened. But it didn't help any. "I know Emily and Caroline are right, that this is all really Ali's fault, and I'm trying really hard to blame her for it, but…"

"You hate me too." Damon finished when she trailed off.

She was silent for a while and turned away from him to look at the headstone she had stopped at. Jenna Marshall's headstone. Next to it was Mona's, marking the place where an empty coffin had been buried. Ian, Garrett, Wilden, Mrs. DiLaurentis, and Marion Cavanaugh were all buried here too. Bethany Young's remains had been removed from the crypt, and hopefully found their final resting place closer to home where her family had finally been able to hold a funeral for their daughter and find some sort of closure. Lyndon James, or Nate St, Germain as he had been known in Rosewood, had been sent back to his family, and Maya's body was somewhere in California. Caleb and Hanna's friend Miranda was buried in Ravenswood, but didn't really have any connection to the mess that was Rosewood other than her friendship with Caleb and Hanna. Shana's body had been sent back to Georgia, and Spencer didn't even want to think about the fact that her miscarried niece was here as well. Suddenly she felt like she knew more people in Rosewood that were dead than alive, and now Toby was one of them.

"I don't hate you, Damon." She finally said, her gaze still on the carved letters of the name of a girl that, at one pint in time, had likely been her future stepsister-in-law. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. I know you didn't realize what you were saying when you told Aria to stop anyone that got in our way. It was an accident."

"If you know it was an accident then why are you still trying to convince yourself that that's true?" Damon asked, squinting as if he were either trying to figure her out or challenge her to admit the truth. She suspected it was a little of both, mostly the later.

She didn't want to look at him, but she forced herself to. "Because part of me still blames you. It was your words that made Aria do what she did, and I know about everything else you've done. I know the reformed version of Damon Salvatore, but the other version is still there. It has to be, because…" she couldn't say it. Not out in the open like this with other people milling around.

"Because I'm still a vampire." He said quietly.

"I don't hate _you_." She said, half trying to convince herself that it was true. "I hate what you caused to happen."

"But you still can't help but blame me a little."

"I'm sorry, Damon." Spencer apologized. "I know I shouldn't, and I'm trying not to. It's just not easy."

Damon smiled at her. "It's okay, Spencer. I don't care if you hate me or if you blame me. You have every right to, and it wouldn't be the first time someone despised me. Most of my friends have tried to kill me at least once. Elena _hated_ me when we first met. I went out of my way to make Stefan's life miserable for decades, but he managed to forgive me. Ric came to Mystic Falls for the sole purpose of killing me, and now we're best buds. Blame me all you want, hate me, plot ways to kill me. I don't care."

"Why?" she asked, wondering if being hated was something you could get used to over time and eventually come to welcome as he seemed to right now.

"Well, for one thing it's not healthy to keep all of those feelings bottled up inside. Trust me. I know." He said, emphasizing his words with that eye thing Spencer was already coming to recognize. "And since you can't exactly take it out on Ali right now, I don't mind being the object of your hatred. But I've been on this earth for over a hundred and seventy years, and if history has taught me anything it's that even the most hated people can be forgiven for their sins. Except maybe Katherine. And probably Alison." He shook his head slightly, as he realized he was rambling, and smiled at her. "I have all the confidence in the world that you will eventually get over the fact that this is, in a way, my fault even if you never actually get over loosing Toby. Which, by the way, I _am_ incredibly sorry about. I know what it feels like to loose the one person you love most in the world."

She wasn't sure if he was talking about Elena or someone else. Surely he had lost more than one loved one in nearly two centuries. Actually, she knew he had. Elena was the best bet, but there was really no telling if she was the one he was referring to right now. Or if she was the only one.

"I don't think I can ever forgive Ali for everything she's done." Spencer said. "She's ruined so many lives."

"And that's exactly why she's going to suffer before she dies." Damon said, as he offered her his arm.

Because she really didn't hate him she took it and allowed him to walk her back to the parking lot where she left him and wandered over to where Emily, Aria, and Hanna were standing near the steps of the church. It was a place they had stood too many times before.

"Aria, I'm sorry about what I said the other night." She said as she stopped beside her shorter friend.

Aria gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry I tried to bite you. This whole heightened emotions thing isn't exactly the best part of being a vampire."

Spencer's brown eyes darted to Hanna.

"She knows." Aria said.

"I'm still not sure I really believe any of it, but Noel, Matt, and Enzo explained everything." Hanna said.

"Ladies."

The girls looked up to see Detectives Tanner and Holbrook standing there. Out of habit each girl was instantly on guard.

Holbrook smiled at them. "It's okay. We know you girls didn't have anything to do with this. We're not here to question you or accuse you of anything."

Tanner nodded in agreement. "We only wanted to offer our condolences. We know how close you all were to Officer Cavanaugh."

No one missed the fact that her gaze was on Spencer as she spoke.

"It's never easy to loose a loved one, and I'm sorry you ladies had to endure another funeral." Tanner continued. "I know it was probably the last thing you wanted to do. I'd also like to apologize for everything we put you through. I'm not sure if we ever really did."

"You didn't." Emily said flatly. "But we accept your apology."

"We know you were only doing your job." Aria added.

Spencer and Hanna nodded.

"Yes, well…" Tanner trailed off, seemingly uncertain of what else to say.

Her young partner spoke up again, finishing the thought for her. "Unfortunately, sometimes our job only makes things worse for the innocent people involved. And although you girls weren't completely innocent we didn't always make it very easy for you to trust us. And we're very sorry about that."

"Why?" Hanna asked. "We looked suspicious, and Ali did a damn good job of making us all look guilty."

"Yes, well…" Tanner said again, stopping this time because more people were coming over to talk to the four girls that seemed to attract death.

The state detectives excused themselves and walked away as Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline joined the group of young women by the church steps. Caroline automatically pulled Aria into a hug and Elena gave Spencer's hand a comforting squeeze. Bonnie introduced herself to Hanna since they hadn't really met yet, and Emily asked if anyone was hungry. They all agreed to head over to the Apple Rose Grill for an early dinner, something four of them remembered very well from another funeral a few years ago, and they were all about to migrate in that direction when seven cell phones rang simultaneously.

Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline simply thought it an odd coincidence, but Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily remembered this all to well. The four of them all had looks of dread on their faces as they all pulled out their phones to open matching texts from an anonymous sender.

_ Line of duty or sire bond? I think we all know the truth of the matter. Careful, ladies, or I might just spill __**all**__ of your secrets. Vampires, witches, and werewolves, OH MY! Kisses, -A_

The four girls that were still known as The Pretty Little Liars, even by their friends and neighbors, thanks to the media, had all read the last part of the message out loud in unison. This was nothing new to them.

"Seriously?" Caroline exclaimed in reaction to her very first A message. "Who would play a sick joke like that?"

The Liars exchanged a knowing look while Elena and Bonnie wondered silently if it _was_ a joke.

"Ali's locked up in a mental hospital!" Caroline reminded them after seeing all of their faces. "She can't text!"

"But her witch can." Bonnie said, glancing back down at her phone.

"And we were never one hundred percent certain that Ali really was A." Aria added. "It seemed like it for a long time, but we never really had any proof that she was the one behind it all."

"Is it starting again?" Emily asked, all of her fierceness suddenly gone.

Hanna looked at her as a gentle breeze began playing with the ends of their hair. "Do you really want to risk ignoring it?"

"Of course we're going to ignore it!" Caroline exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Spencer shook her head. "A doesn't like to be ignored, Caroline."

"This isn't A!" Caroline insisted. "It can't be. I refuse to believe that A is still out there, or that there's a new one. This is some idiot playing a sick joke."

Aria desperately wanted to believe that Caroline was right, but she had been down that road one too many times. "Spencer's right, Care."

"Bad things happen when you ignore A." Hanna agreed.

"Bad things happen when you _don't_ ignore A." Emily reminded them.

"Either way, A or not, we still need to be careful." Elena said. "We all have secrets that don't need to get out."

Caroline slowly began to realize that even if this was just someone playing a cruel joke Elena was right. Alison's world and the supernatural world were now intertwined, and nothing good could possibly come out of that.

"So, what?" Caroline asked. "We just wait patiently for A to make the next move?"

Those that knew how A worked nodded, while the other three wondered just what sort of trouble they were headed for. Was A worse than Klaus?

Aria, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna all looked around out of habit, trying to see if there was anyone suspicious lurking in the lingering crowd, but no one seemed out of place. There were no glimpses of black, or red, or blonde, but an eerie feeling settled over them as they remembered the first time this had happened.

After what had supposedly been Ali's funeral, but had actually been Bethany's, they had stood outside the church like this wondering what it meant now that Jenna was back and contemplating their first individual A texts. Their thoughts had been interrupted by Detective Darren Wilden introducing himself, and vaguely accusing them of something by promising that he _would_ find out the truth about what happened that summer. After he had walked away the had watched Jenna get into a car and then their phones had all gone off alerting them to the beginning of what had become worse than any nightmare imaginable.

_I'm still here, bitches, and I know everything. –A_

** Sadly, this is the end of our story…for now. **

** When I decided to write this I was planning on making it all about Damon and Aria and Ezra and Elena. Then the story took over, as they always do, and I realized that the fact that I couldn't come up with a ship name for Ezra and Elena that flowed properly had probably been a sign that they were doomed to fail, which they pretty much did. Luckily that gives me some room to explore love triangles in "Book 2" :) Because this has suddenly turned into at least a two parter.**

** As for Toby and Katherine? Well, we all know how this supernatural stuff works. No one is necessarily gone forever, and if the story allows for it I will find a way to bring Toby back at least. Again, love triangles. I have some things planned for Miss Nancy Drew/Lucy Liu/Jane Bond…well, you get the picture.**

** And of course there are so many questions left unanswered! Who is Ali's witch? Why can't resurrected doppelgangers turn? I still don't know the answer to that one. WHO THE HELL IS A? **

** And last, but not least: Why did I change the title? Well, because when I started out intending to do some literary square dancing and simply swap partners I had planned on having Damon and Ezra basically ending up being the answer to the girls' problems and vice versa, i.e. their pain killers. And while that did work out fairly well, Ali is still alive and now we have more doppelganger trouble and the omnipresent letter is up to her old games. Seeing as Pain Killer decided it wanted to be a series, and Pain Killer didn't really seem like a fitting title for a series I came up with a better one. Rosewood Falls. Not only is it basically a mash up of two fictional towns, which is exactly what I did when I came up with it, but it also fits the overall theme that is basically an entire town failing. Repeatedly. And if this whole thing works out anywhere near how I think it will, Rosewood (or specific residents thereof) will indeed fall, figuratively at least.**

** So…thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.**

*****For those of you wondering about my War of the Worlds series, I have no clue. I would love to continue and eventually finish it, but not only am I wrapped up in VampLiars, but I really don't know what to do with my WOTW world right now. So, bear with me and hopefully I'll figure something out eventually.**


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